


A Fighter's Fortune

by Akemi_Snow



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, Blood and Violence, Broken Bones, Enemies to Lovers, Fights, Friends to Enemies, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Illegal Activities, Lowkey Jealousy, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Street fighting, Underground Fighter Hagane Kotetsu, Unresolved Argument Exchange, bet u weren't expecting that non linear progress eh, literal YEARS into (unaware) mutual pining help, non toxic though...I think, they're so in love it's physically painful how OBLIVIOUS they are
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-09
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 80,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28422627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akemi_Snow/pseuds/Akemi_Snow
Summary: Kotetsu and Izumo, best friends of all life, aren't tight on money. They have more than enough to pay debts and expenses and still have fun each now and then. Kotetsu, however, is frustrated that he can't have or give Izumo more than just "enough".One day, Kotetsu starts arriving with gifts, tickets, and things they couldn't afford before, even though budget math is still the same. Izumo, however, doesn't question Kotetsu, because he trusts fully that Kotetsu would never, ever lie to him or hide something important.Right?A.K.A. the one time Kotetsu was an idiot, Izumo made it worse, Kotetsu made it worse, they ruined their friendship, and things got really bad for pettiness and money they didn't need.
Relationships: Hagane Kotetsu/Kamizuki Izumo
Comments: 22
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> When I got hyperfixated on these two some months ago I was ready to see the internet swamped of this ship because it's basically **THE** canon gay couple of the entire series, but I find an almost EMPTY HELLHOLE???
> 
> SO I'M FILLING IT MYSELF.
> 
> HELLO I'M AKEMI-SNOW, I LOVE THE BACKGROUND DESK NINJA IN NARUTO TO UNHEALTHY DEGREES OF OBSESSION, AND THIS IS MY FIRST CONTRIBUTION TO MY ATTEMPT AT SPAMMING THE INTERNET WITH THESE IDIOTS THAT GIVE ME JOY FOR SOME REASON WHILE YOU ALL FOCUS ON THE PROTAGONISTS.  
> -
> 
> 1\. One night I thought "I can imagine any ship in a modern AU except KoteIzu". Next thing I know is I typed 50k+ of it. Turns out I COULD imagine a modern AU KoteIzu.
> 
> 2\. It's supposed to be Japan and money's supposed to be yen but I have no idea how yen work so just laugh if i'm doing stupidities with the numbers, i literally just googled the equivalent to MY currency each time I wrote a number. Which is not dollars.
> 
> 3\. english no first language forgib mistaeks pls
> 
> 4\. first fic be gentle pls
> 
> 9\. enjoy
> 
> 10\. is anyone even reading this, like at aLL
> 
> 11\. if you read all of this note what do you want for next christmas, I love you
> 
> -

Kotetsu groaned out loud as he was punched hard enough to stumble back against a pile of empty boxes. He blinked hard and opened his eyes wide to try to shake away the dizziness, forced himself to recover quickly, and he moved just in time to dodge a hit from his enemy. 

Recovering and putting the fists back up to cover his face, Kotetsu tried to keep his breath steady, and he focused on his opponent. The other guy, a blond with a long scar on his cheek, spat on the floor while keeping eye contact, cleaned his lips, and gave him a smug look before trying to approach again. Kotetsu didn’t roll his eyes only because he had to keep his focus on this jerk-face’s every move. As the guy teased him pretending to get closer only to step back, Kotetsu kept his distance, taking a few steps back, but stopping before bumping into the loud crowd gathered around them. Everyone yelled into a raw and senseless mess of cheering, insults flying for no reason, orders of what to do, and cheering. 

“Three thousand if you pin him down!”  
“Four thousand if you knock him out!”  
“Use a chair! Use a chair!”  
“Get it done already, you two!”

Kotetsu ignored them all. He kept his fists up, glared at his target, and saw the idiot grin smartly at him. A few seconds later, the blond tried to intimidate him by getting too close too fast, and then tried throwing some punches. Tired of messing around and not wanting this to keep dragging on, Kotetsu decided to go active on him; he blocked the punches, tried getting close and was blocked, pretended to lower the guard, dodged, and found just the right opening to turn around on his heel and throw the other one up- hitting the guy right on the jaw, and making him stumble backwards, enough so Kotetsu delivered a last punch and threw him down.

As Kotetsu got on him to not let him stand back up, the crowd exploded in louder cheering and yelling and gathered closer around them.  
“Five thousand if you use the chair!” some voice insisted for what Kotetsu swore was the twelfth time. He looked at the blond underneath him, and roughly grabbed his wrists, pinning him down. And so, having him down at his mercy, Kotetsu only waited a few moments, and then let go. 

Moving a hand up to use his wrist to clean his bleeding nose, Kotetsu stepped backwards, eyes still on his enemy as the guy recovered and sat up. The guy scowled at him, but Kotetsu just shook the head and put his free hand up. Just like that, the guy clicked his tongue and turned around, getting lost into the crowd that started teasing him.  
At the other side of the crowd, Kotetsu approached another guy that had been in his watch all this time, and he stretched a hand towards him. Without asking or complaining, the guy, laughing under his breath, handed Kotetsu three bills, and then returned to a conversation with his friends, not minding him much. 

And just like that, despite having being trapped in a very much real fight with a stranger a minute ago, Kotetsu walked away like nothing had happened, no one stopping him, no one asking, and no one looking his way twice as he opened his path through the crowd towards the door of the abandoned warehouse, and went home.

By the time Kotetsu arrived, all the lights of his apartment were off. He looked at the hour in his phone before opening the door. It was early…relatively. Enough to not be too questioned, he guessed. And hoped. 

Kotetsu opened the door quietly, and closed it even more carefully. Stepped out of his shoes, and hurried inside. Before doing anything else, Kotetsu hurried to the bathroom, opening the door as quietly as possible, and looked at himself in the mirror. Hurriedly and quietly, Kotetsu cleaned the remains of dry blood on his nose, some that was probably not his own splattered on his cheek and temple, the dirt on his face and both dirt and blood on his hands. He looked at himself a bit better a last time, making sure he wasn’t bloodied or dirtied, and he left the bathroom.

Before heading to his room, he reached for the door across his. He released a breath, tried calming down, and then knocked softly, only as a warning. Then, he opened the door and peeked in.  
“Zum?”

It took only a few seconds before he got a sleepy hum in response.  
“Ko?”

Kotetsu watched from the door as, calmly, the man in the bed pull up onto a forearm; dressed in soft, white pajamas, hair down and only slightly messy and all over his face, looking more asleep than awake.  
“Just wanted to tell you I’m home, Izumo” Kotetsu murmured.

From his spot in bed, Izumo rubbed one of his eyes, and tried keeping the other open, not helping but keep blinking sleepily. Despite the sleepiness, however, Izumo gave him a wide, happy smile, and nodded.  
“Welcome home, Ko” Izumo murmured back. “How’d it go?”  
“Good, good” Kotetsu replied with a smile.  
“D’you want dinner or…?” Izumo started asking as he was already sitting up, but Kotetsu hurried to reply.  
“No, no, don’t worry, Zum, I ate out” he said with another happy smile. Izumo stayed still for a moment, and then dropped back onto his pillow, closing the eyes, and snuggling into the sheets.  
“Good” Izumo mumbled. “I’d ask you more ‘bout how it went but I’d rather just sleep. Tell me t’morrow.”

Kotetsu laughed lowly.  
“Fair enough” he murmured. “Night, Zum.”  
He was pretty sure that Izumo said it back, but his voice was so low and sleepy, Kotetsu couldn’t really tell. With a smile, he exited and closed the door softly, turned around, and headed for his room. 

Once in there, Kotetsu released a sigh he had been containing and started rubbing his neck, a little sore. Calmly, he undressed, closing the eyes and focusing enough to not groan out in pain when he took off his shirt. He let it drop and approached his mirror and started looking around his torso for bruises.  
So, he had a pretty bad one on a side, and a few across the chest, and one on the arm. Hm…one of them could be a bit troublesome if he wanted to wear short sleeves, but his uniform was long sleeved and workplace counted with air conditioner, so…so long he kept long sleeves or three quarters at home, too, it would be fine. 

Kotetsu continued undressing to change into his sleeping clothes, not quite pajamas as much as they were just a set of old baggy pants and a top. He took his wallet out of his pocket and took out the three bills from before. He looked at them and smiled. He knew just what to do with this easy money. He put it back in his wallet, set it on his bedside table, and dropped in bed with a sigh, wincing a little in pain and cursing himself for just dropping himself in there after being half-beaten. 

He rolled around to face the ceiling and sighed again. Well…now he had however long it would take him to fall asleep to think of what to tell Izumo in the morning. And, boy, did he need that time.

Because everything so far was happening _so_ easily. Fighting was easy. The extra cash was so easy.  
But what couldn’t become any easier was the idea that Izumo slept peacefully in the room next door, trusting fully and blindly on Kotetsu, while Kotetsu was manufacturing a whole lie in his head to tell to him in the morning, to hide from Izumo this whole mess that was illegal, underground fighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -  
> Not really very happy with this beginning but...it gets better? I think so ahasjdh
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> PS: u can hit me up at Tumblr, same name, Haku pic, KoteIzu blog basically, along the Tokubetsu squad and IruKaka because I'm weak
> 
> ((srsly why are you people sleeping on these two morons when they're basically canon wtf where's the content, WHERE IS IT))


	2. Chapter 2

Kotetsu hadn’t really planned to get into street fighting. It was not…an accident, of course, but it was not like it was his plan A when he started brainstorming for ideas of how he could earn some extra cash. 

The thing was, he didn’t even really need that extra. He just wanted it. So it wasn’t like he wanted a second job, he didn’t have the time nor the stamina for it. He wanted free time, too, not two jobs because, thank whatever god existed, he was privileged enough to not _need_ a second job. However, his free time was starting to get a little boring with no extra cash for the simplicities of life: a new videogame, a one-weekend trip somewhere an hour or two away, maybe even just a bike.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate his friends, no. Izumo, particularly and always Izumo, made his life so much fun. The two could stay indoors locked away with no light or water service and still have a great time. The thing was, Kotetsu didn’t want Izumo to stay short on money, either. He wanted to have a new videogame that Izumo could enjoy too, that they could play together, a one-weekend trip somewhere _with_ Izumo, somewhere he wanted to go, a bike to do stupidities _with_ Izumo on the back, or sat on the handlebar, or riding it while Kotetsu sat on the handlebar and end up scraped, he wanted to do _more._ He wanted to stop seeing Izumo staring at books from outside the store like a hungry kitten looking at fresh fish, wanted to shove that book in his hands, he wanted Izumo to stop giving him that reassuring but clearly disappointed smile whenever they figured there wasn’t enough for a game or a short trip.

Student loans still being paid two years later, rent, some for Ko’s mom, single and with a part-time job only, and Izumo’s grandpa’s medicines were what kept them at bay. They weren’t struggling with money, as it was, not a serious struggle. There was just not that tiny little extra for extra entertainment. Going to the movie theatre or museums were frequent, and eating out, yes, but the extra-extras were what were still missing. It was more like a tantrum of privilege than a necessity, really. Kotetsu knew that.  
But it wasn’t like he hated street fighting, either.

It wasn’t like he felt forced to it, or like he didn’t have an option. It was just…he didn’t really mind. He didn’t _care._ He didn’t need to do it, but he did it because he just…didn’t see the problem in it. Illegal, yes, of course but like…everybody knew those kinds of things happened and no one ever accused them. And it wasn’t like it implied real harm. Bruises and some minor bleeding, well, of course, but Kotetsu didn’t really mind. He was better than most the other fighters. Most the other fighters were guys that didn’t want to study or work, or that _couldn’t,_ and lived off the streets, cigarettes and alcohol. They threw punches out of instinct; Kotetsu was trained. Half in the streets and half in martial arts, Kotetsu had a much better school knowledge on where and how to punch, as well as better skills, but also knew the dirty tricks and behaviors he faced. 

So really, when he took up on it, it wasn’t like a desperate move for money to save his and Izumo’s ass from starvation or homelessness, it wasn’t like he was desperate and forced to it, no. He just wanted a new game and a new book every now and then. And he was good at punching people, and it turned out people enjoyed watching him punch others and paid him for it, so what could possibly ever be wrong about this, right?

Except everything felt so fucking wrong when he looked at Izumo. It didn’t feel wrong when he looked at his bruised body, nor when he punched the other guys in the face, it didn’t feel wrong when he looked at his own mother in the eye and knew he was keeping a secret. But looking at Izumo? Good heavens, _that_ was a disaster. Every time Izumo welcomed him home at night, sometimes staying awake waiting for him, believing some stupid lie like I had to go see my mom, I had a date, a friend asked me for a favor, just went for a walk to clear my head, every time Izumo asked him how his night was, and when he woke up knowing nothing, it felt so fucking wrong. And Kotetsu couldn’t even pinpoint why. It didn’t feel wrong at all, not one bit, until he looked at Izumo.

He guessed maybe it wasn’t street fighting what felt wrong, rather just the fact that he was hiding this from Izumo. He had never lied to him. Never this long and this bad. Izumo was his best friend and accomplice of life, his partner of everything. He had never left him out like this. It was just…for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure how Izumo would react. Kotetsu had done plenty stupidities before, ninety percent of which Izumo joined, but it was never something _illegal._ And Izumo liked legal. He liked order and law, he was always the one kid the teacher left in charge when they had to leave for a few minutes. Kotetsu knew…he trusted that Izumo would- that he wouldn’t like…think he was a bad person for this or anything, it was just…difficult, figuring a way to tell him. No matter how Kotetsu worded it in his head, it always sounded stupid and wrong. So he had just…simply…not told him. Not yet, he wanted to, of course, he just…not yet.

It started because of a visit to his mother’s house. Kotetsu had grown up with her in a less than affluent neighborhood, so going there and stumbling upon some kind of rascal wasn’t rare. It was never someone truly dangerous, and it wasn’t like wealthier neighborhoods were crime free, but it was more likely to stumble upon a mugger, pick-pocketer, or troublemaker in these streets. This had been Kotetsu’s childhood and teen neighborhood, though, so he moved around without worrying too much and even having a knack to tell which guys he could just tell off like they were a bug. 

Kotetsu had visited his mother, stayed all evening, and left. He texted Izumo as always to let him know he was on his way home; even though they normally told each other where they were in those rare cases they were apart, it had become particularly important whenever Ko visited his mom because, even though he had never been mugged in this neighborhood, he still didn’t like pulling his phone out while walking there. So a text for Izumo, and Izumo would know it was alright if Kotetsu didn’t pick up or answer texts straight away, he was okay and just waiting to be on the bus to answer. 

It was while walking towards the bust station that a guy approached him.  
“Hey, ‘Tetsu!” Kotetsu turned to look and recognized the guy as a neighbor of the area. Never really a friend, more like an acquaintance. Kotetsu had completely forgotten the name and could only recall a nickname.  
“Hey, man” Kotetsu greeted to play it safe with the name. “’Sup?”  
“Hey, good to see you” the guy gave him a smile and kind of punched him on the arm. It didn’t hurt but Kotetsu wasn’t that comfortable with this treatment with an almost stranger. Still, he didn’t say anything and just stared patiently as the guy started walking with him. “Hadn’t seen you around in a while.”  
“Yeah, I come see my mother each now and then, maybe you’ve just missed me?” Kotetsu offered. Then, decided to not go in unnecessary circles of awkward small talk, he threw the question. “Do you need anything?”

The guy didn’t waste any time.  
“How would you like some extra cash?”  
“Huh?” Kotetsu questioned. The guy gave him a smile and stopped. By mere reflex, so did Kotetsu, facing him. “You mean a job? I don’t need it, bro. I’ve got one already.”  
“Yeah, no, I just mean like…an extra. You know, just a tiny bit, it’s not a job” the guy continued. Kotetsu raised an eyebrow and gave him a firm but questioning look, asking him silently to spit it out. The guy seemed to be trying to contain some excitement as he looked around as if to make sure no one else was listening, and leaned a bit closer to Kotetsu, voice lowering. “How do you feel about underground fights?”  
“Huh?” Kotetsu questioned louder. It took a moment before he was shaking the head. “No, man, those are illegal. And the people that pick those fights are always on something, and they’re always aiming for like, killing and it’s not cool.”  
“But what if I told you” the guy started, reaching to wrap an arm around him and put his other hand on Kotetsu’s chest, “that it’s more organized _and_ it pays?”

Kotetsu frowned a little and looked at him.  
“I don’t know, man. Doesn’t feel right. Besides, I don’t really _need_ the money. I make enough at my job.”  
“But wouldn’t some little extra be great?”

Kotetsu didn’t reply. For a moment, he wondered if this guy had spied into his head for the past weeks and had heard his tiny tantrum of wanting a little more for silly things he didn’t need but wanted. Well…yes, the extra would be great, but…  
“Nah, man” Kotetsu sighed as he took the guy’s arm and unwrapped it from himself. “It’s not worth it, risking my health and life for some extra I don’t need. Besides, why are you telling _me?_ ”  
“Because you’re one badass fighter, dude” the guy said with a bright smile like he was a child suggesting some kiddy mischief and not clandestine fights. “Dude, I’ve seen those guys fight, they’re _nowhere_ near you. And that’s years since I saw you fight, and I heard you took up on martial arts while at university?” Kotetsu looked away and tried dismissing it with a hand gesture, but the guy kept going. “Dude, you know how to punch, and you’re right in your best shape. Those guys are just movie-badass wannabes that have no idea what they’re doing, so like, just think about it, think about it; it’s normally low bets, right? Right, _but_ because you’re so good and much better trained, you can take five, even ten times more fights, so that’s five, ten times more bets. You feel me?”

Kotetsu looked slightly away…thoughtful.  
“Low bets?” he asked. “How much?”  
“You know, like three, four thousand yen normally, but if the others are enjoying the fight they may raise the bets freely.”  
“I won’t risk myself and take up on clandestine fighting for three thousand” Kotetsu complained, and tried walking away, but the guy followed once more.  
“Yes, bro, but you’re not doing the math!” the guy insisted. “Three thousand per fight, so think you take up on five, that’s fifteen thousand, bro, in one night!”

Kotetsu’s steps slowed down. Fifteen thousand in one night…that was…that was a bit more than five times what he was paid per day at his job. Indeed, that was a whole week’s worth, a little bit more, in one night. In an hour, maybe, and his job was eight hours daily to earn the same, a bit less. And he _was_ in shape, he had taken on many guys through his teen years, and now that he properly worked out and trained constantly, and in his mid twenties, he was just in peak condition, he was-  
“I don’t know, man” Kotetsu shook the head and continued walking. “What do you get out of this, anyway?”  
“Nothing!” the guy replied nearly as if offended. “I’m just offering it, dude, because, like, you were first to come to my head because I remember you as the best fighter in the neighborhood back in the days, and just recently I stumbled upon these gatherings and I thought, easy money for someone that can fight, and I thought, easy money for ‘Tetsu!”

Kotetsu replied with a little hum. He hated that the guy sounded sincerely disinterested in getting something out of it. It made it even worse than really feeling like he was being lured or used for something. Kotetsu stayed quiet for longer than he noticed. Thoughtful.  
Nah. It wasn’t right. Picking a fight with strangers wasn’t something he’d do for fun. Besides, who knew which of those was on some messed up drugs, or which carried a weapon, or if they would just gang up to rob him or something. Besides, punching implied being punched back, no matter how good he was, he wasn’t the only one that knew how to fight. And it had been years since he had needed to get in a real fight with someone, if you put his friend Iruka’s stupid ex aside because that was really just ganging up on him after Iruka had already beaten him, so like…that didn’t count. 

And it wasn’t like he needed it. It would be…cool, though. To make a week’s worth in one night. That would be literally like doubling his wage, just working the same amount, and adding one night of fighting. More adrenaline and risk, yes, but way less hours, and the same (even a bit more) money.  
Right, but what would Izumo think? What would his mom think? Right? And his other friends, too, he couldn’t just proudly brag about making illegal money from clandestine fighting.  
Then again, it wasn’t like he would be _stealing_ that money or anything. People…gave it willingly. Right? It wasn’t like it was much more different than, say, poker; people threw bets in willingly and lost bets willingly, it wasn’t stealing. And everybody knew street fights were a thing, nobody gave a damn. Like cops knew who was the drug dealer and did nothing, this was just like that. Even less bad because at least drugs could be given a wrong use, but street fighting was consensual, so like, was it really that _bad?_

No. Kotetsu shook his head again. No, he couldn’t pick up on this. This was just exactly like drugs and alcohol, someone lures you in knowing it’s wrong, it doesn’t sound bad, you give in, and then there’s no way out from an obvious spiral of wrong and bad, no.  
Then again, that new game had just been released, and both Izumo and him were dying to get their hands on it…

Kotetsu hummed and retook his way, the guy following. Kotetsu frowned slightly.  
“Just out of curiosity…” he started. “How does it work? I’m not saying I’ll try, just…out of curiosity.”

And it really was just curiosity. Because how could he not be curious!? This was so much money, and so _easy!_ The guy gave him a wide, bright smile, and started explaining. Basically, some guys, not really a club and it was always whoever wanted to be there, gathered at some spot, normally this abandoned warehouse, and then whoever wanted picked a fight with someone else that also wanted. It was normally one-on-one, not some ‘street fight orgy’, just two guys beating each other while the rest gathered around and threw bets in as they pleased. More than betting on the winning guy, they threw a free bet for any of them to pick; so someone could yell, like in an auction, ‘a thousand if you punch him in the face’, and whoever of the two wanted could take the bet, fulfill the request, and that money’s in. Someone could still yell ‘two thousand if you manage to throw him down’, so you did if you wanted and it _added_ to the other thousand you had already won, so that was three thousand, not two. However, say, if someone yelled ‘A million if you kill him’, you weren’t entitled to do it if you didn’t want to. He could just decline the bet and take whatever last he fulfilled. So it wasn’t crossing any boundaries, right? Because the other guy would be fighting on free will, too, so like, consensual! Consensual, boundaries, what could possibly go wrong, right?

After the explanation, Kotetsu remained quiet and thoughtful, slight frown upon his face. He chewed a bit on the inside of his cheek, and then sighed.  
“I don’t know, man, but thanks for telling me” Kotetsu said and nodded at the guy, who just gave him a bit of a nod and crooked smile, the kind that said he understood that as a No. Good, Kotetsu thought, because that was definitely a no. “See you around.”  
“Yeah, dude, see you!” the guy said and patted Kotetsu’s chest with the back of a hand. “Give it a thought if you can, though!”

And like that, the other guy left back where they were coming from. Kotetsu stood in his place for a moment, sighed again, and turned back to his way into the bus stop.  
Once on the bus, he pulled his phone out and texted Izumo to let him know. They chatted for a bit.  
_‘There’s this one guy in the neighborhood I knew from high school, he told me about some street fighting club or something. Says it pays big money. Weird, huh?’_  
Kotetsu looked at his text, unsent, smiling a bit at it, ready to share a chuckle with Izumo about something that was obviously dumb and silly and ridiculous…yet, he couldn’t bring himself to send the text, and his heart beat a little heavy into his ears.  
Kotetsu ended up deleting the text. An immediate sensation of guilt took over him for a moment, but he tried to ignore it. 

It wasn’t that he was considering it for real…  
Kotetsu had tried clearing his mind from it on the rest of the way home, something that he half managed. When he arrived to the apartment he shared with Izumo, he found the latter sat on the windowsill of the living room, or what Izumo called ‘his cozy spot’. He was, like anytime he used his cozy spot, reading a book, which he immediately forgot as soon as Kotetsu walked in.  
“Ko!” Izumo called happily, with his always present smile. “How’d it go?”  
“It’s all good” Kotetsu smiled back, and so he headed for the living room to sit and rest for a bit before it was time for dinner. Izumo stayed at the windowsill, facing him and crossing the ankles, and it wasn’t long before both were immersed in conversation, at first Kotetsu sharing his day and later on Izumo bringing up what he did on his own and the fun he had had with their friend Iruka.

For a while, everything was good and in order like it had always been. It wasn’t until Kotetsu offered making dinner that Izumo, after asking if he wanted any help and was kindly told no, picked his book up again and retook his reading.  
Kotetsu couldn’t help but eye his book. It was a paperback, simple edition of one of Izumo’s favorites. It wasn’t ripped nor old nor threatening with shattering or anything, it was in good conditions, Izumo always took care of his books like they would instantly dissolve if he did anything to them. 

…but did they _need_ to stay in paperback cheap/average editions? Kotetsu meant, that was one of Izumo’s favorites. Just last year Izumo had had to skip on buying the Fiftieth anniversary edition of that series because of money. Shiny covers, pretty art on them, hardcover, and a nice box with nice art…and Izumo was _still_ saving up, a year later. That wouldn’t be a problem if they earned a bit more, just a bit more.  
So imagine what they could get with twice their wage!

Kotetsu blinked out of his thoughts and his first instinct was to look up at Izumo, almost as if to make sure he wasn’t reading his mind. Izumo remained oblivious, smiling softly at the pages as he read through them. Kotetsu tried clearing his head and headed to just prepare dinner and try to forget.

That night, all that he was thinking about was that nice collector’s edition, and the so many other things that he wanted either for himself or Izumo, even for some of his friends, and his mom. A little extra wouldn’t do any harm, really. He didn’t even want expensive things or daily parties or a spoiled rich brat’s life. He just wanted…if he had a little extra, he just wanted a few things, just a new game each now and then, not even a new one, he just wanted to stop waiting five years for games’ price to lower, just go straight into that store, look around and grab one as he pleased without looking at the price tag. And he wanted to give things to his friends, too. It would be so nice to just buy something and have the shipping address be Iruka’s just to surprise him for no reason, or to get Genma something for his birthday more than he could normally offer. And Izumo. He wanted to give him so many things. Good heavens, if he was rich, he would spend a quarter in his friends, a quarter in himself, and half in Izumo. 

Kotetsu sighed and crossed his fingers behind his head.  
Street fighting…it wasn’t right. Money was super tempting, but it wasn’t right. There was a reason those were illegal, things went wrong and the people that got into that stuff weren’t good people.  
…then again, that was twice his wage…without wasting twice the time, though. That was _so_ tempting. And he was good at punching people. There was this one time they tried to mug him and he ended up dragging a knocked out robber to the nearest cop he found. And that was a mugger, someone that took him by surprise. Imagine how he could fight being already mentally prepared. And he…it wasn’t that he liked violence, but a good sparring? That was hella enjoyable. If they offered him whether he would rather work out or spar, no one would be the slightest surprised that he would pick up the latter.

He normally only sparred with Izumo, his training buddy, but that was different. None of them aimed to hurt for real. And he sometimes felt that Izumo held back. Izumo was stupidly smart and so stupidly skilled, Kotetsu admired him genuinely, so it wasn’t rare that Izumo beat him half the time, and made Kotetsu have troubles at believing it when he won, never being able to tell when he had really won and when Izumo had held back.  
So like, this would be so much more different because no one would hold back. It would be strangers that would go against him at full strength.  
Kotetsu would be lying if he said that the chill of excitement he got from the thought made him feel guilty.

The days went by, and Kotetsu kept going in circles in his head about the offer. On a hand, he knew it wasn’t right or smart, but the balance kept adding more and more weight to the pros. It was something he was good at, didn’t hate, took up only a bit of his time, and could pay so much if he was lucky. He had tried to tell Izumo. He always told him everything, especially if it was something like making a decision, but this time Kotetsu just…kept it to himself. He tried telling himself that it was because he wasn’t sure how Izumo would react, but the truth was, he knew that he would be mad. And Kotetsu was starting to build hopes up, and didn’t want it to be thrown down, because he knew he cared so much about Izumo’s opinion that as soon as Zum said no, Kotetsu would instantly drop the idea. 

So he kept it to himself. Kept it quiet for a week.  
And when he visited his mom again that week later, he said bye a bit earlier, didn’t text Izumo about being already on his way home, and met up with the guy from before.

The guy introduced him to some of his friends that were into the fighting…thing, show, club, whatever it was. They showed him to the abandoned warehouse where they held the fights. He stayed a bit later to watch some of the fights, only as part of the crowd. Heard the bets that were thrown; fifty, a hundred, seven hundred, two thousand, five thousand, seven thousand…he watched one same guy be able to pick up on two or three different bets, and normally a max of two fights. And every time a guy walked away from the fight pitch, Kotetsu couldn’t help but compare. He would have dodged differently, easier. He would have dodged, for starters. He would have thrown a kick here, a kick there. He could have definitely picked up on at least three bets higher than that guy. Two more fights that this dude. Ended this fight in three hits, in one hit, would’ve been able to beat ten more guys.

And the more Kotetsu watched, the easier and better and brighter it seemed to his eye. The easier the execution, the brighter the money, the less bad and wrong it seemed. Every fight was consensual. There were no crazy bets that involved breaking bones or death, it was still brutal but nothing that was actually too bad. 

That night he remained only a watcher, as he had told the guy he would be. No fighting, he just wanted to have a look. So, once he had watched enough, and before his stupid feet could drag him into the fight pitch, he thanked the guy, patted his shoulder, and left.  
Unable to help it, Kotetsu couldn’t sleep early that night thinking in circles about the offer and what he had seen that night. He hadn’t told Izumo about it, told him he had just seen his mother, because he thought that it wasn’t necessary to scare him if Kotetsu wasn’t going to pick up on the offer, because he was _not._ Except, at night, he couldn’t help a pinch of guilt as he nibbled onto his lip, in clear doubt. 

Long story short, some days later, Kotetsu decided that trying would do no harm.  
So next week he made up some excuse so Izumo wouldn’t question him about a third Friday night on a row that Kotetsu spent away, visited the fighting warehouse, and watched for about forty minutes before he built up the courage to go in.  
And he beat a guy. And another, and a third, and then another after him before he was tired. Physically, that is, his spirit worked up and eager for more, because how could he not be eager for more after he had earned, in the spawn of an hour, _eleven thousand_ yen. Eleven fucking _thousand._ Honestly, if Kotetsu had warmed up and been more prepared, he would have gone on all night. 

It was insane, the bets weren’t anything otherworldly. People asked him to punch some specific place of the other guy’s body, to throw him down, to tackle him, it was just petitions to do what he was already doing; fighting. And it was _so easy._ The guys here, as he had been told, weren’t trained. There were some that had clearly taken a class or two, but Kotetsu had been learning since he was twelve and constantly practiced. The way the other guys moved seemed even dumb. 

So cash offers flying everywhere, Kotetsu spent his night fighting strangers. Tackling and throwing down, dodging and kicking, stepping back and waiting for an opening, punching jaws, throwing people down. And by the time he was done, opening his palm to receive from twelve different hands his oh so glorious, so beautiful eleven fucking thousand yen. 

Kotetsu went back home and found Izumo waiting for him. Thankfully, Kotetsu had gone into a restroom at his last bus stop before getting home, the sweat having dried out, and needing only to clean a slightly bleeding nose and dirt off his face. His hands were a bit scraped from once that they managed to make him stumble and fall, but Izumo wouldn’t notice.  
So when he came home to an Izumo shoved into his pajamas watching TV, apparently waiting for him, Kotetsu looked just fine, if a bit tired, which went unnoted because, well, it was late, of course he would be tired after a work day and that night out ‘helping a friend packing stuff to move out’. 

Izumo didn’t notice the scraped hands, and didn’t question the faint smell of sweat, partially hidden behind deodorant. Kotetsu only had to hold back a few hisses while he prepared dinner, but he managed fine, dined with Izumo, hung out a bit with him, and went to bed completely getting away with it.  
It didn’t feel good, hiding this from Izumo. It felt very, very, very low-key like betraying him, somehow.  
But Kotetsu shrugged it off a bit too fast, a bit too easy. It wasn’t like Izumo knew everything about his life, like he didn’t know everything about Izumo, there was a thing called personal privacy and it wasn’t wrong to keep a thing or two from him. Right? 

Not to say that the eleven thousand yen in his hands made him burst out serotonin enough for it to shadow any trace of guilt or remorse or any common sense.  
It wasn’t like it was _that_ wrong, either, right? It hadn’t been hell, his life hadn’t been compromised, or his health, not even a bone. It had been easy fights, a lot of money, and he hadn’t done something he wasn’t comfortable with, or that the other guys didn’t agree to. Because not saying no was a way to say yes, right? 

Kotetsu, for the first time in his life, had done something big enough to be considered important and had kept it a secret from Izumo. It should have felt wrong.  
But he fell asleep feeling giddy, smiling, and thinking of the things he would get himself and Izumo with his well earned, easy, slightly bloodied money.


	3. Chapter 3

And spend money on himself and Izumo he did.

Kotetsu knew that he couldn’t just appear with a bunch of new things out of nowhere without Izumo noticing that he was getting extra money from somewhere. Indeed, hiding all this from Izumo was particularly troublesome because it was him who kept track and record of their bank accounts and monthly budget review. He was good with this kind of things and it had just sort of become their habit. Kotetsu suddenly asking to be in charge, even if he did it with a smile, would just come off as suspicious. So he kept all the money he made at the fighting warehouse literally under his mattress. Which didn’t really help his addiction to these fights because every time he pulled the mattress up to either put in or take out some money, he looked at all the bills sprawled there and even though he knew it wasn’t millions, the fact that there were so many bills, even if low valued, made him feel like he had _so much_ , so he inevitably got excited for more.

He made sure to try to be as subtle as possible. He couldn’t just come home with the newest generation of gaming consoles, or with the bike he so wanted with no explanation. So Kotetsu made sure to get the things that he wanted little by little, and when it couldn’t be so subtle, he tried to bring up an excuse believable enough.  
“I’ve been saving up lately” he had told Izumo about three weeks into his extra money shenanigans, when he came home with a roomba they had been planning to get for months but always forgot. 

Because it wasn’t a _lie._ He really had been saving up. He just didn’t mention which income it was that he was saving from.

And so Kotetsu kept his new life routine up: gifts for himself and his friends with his new spare money some days, and clandestine fights some nights. 

The first thing Kotetsu bought with his recently earned money (before the roomba), and not spending even all of it, was a videogame. It was a couple months old, and, naturally, he and Izumo couldn’t get it on its release date and were, like always, waiting for the price to go down. When Kotetsu went to the store, he found it had dropped only a pathetic, useless bit. But Izumo didn’t need to know that. So he grabbed it, paid without wincing for his wallet, and went home.  
“Ah! Kotetsu! How did you get it!?” Izumo jumped out of his seat when Kotetsu pulled the box out of the bag, and went straight to snatch it from his friend’s hands, with bright, excited eyes and this huge grin that made Kotetsu’s scrap-healing hands tingle in joy.  
“I checked out of curiosity and they had it on sale” Kotetsu smiled, heart fluttering at the sight of his excited best friend, and deciding that the whole fighting night had been _so_ worth it. “Wanna try it out?”  
“How is that even a question!?” Izumo yelled at him with this vibrant grin upon his face as he basically threw himself at their console and shoved the disc in, grabbing his favorite controller and throwing himself onto the couch, doing these weird combos of noises that had Kotetsu snorting.

Kotetsu squatted to dodge a hit, and used the opening to throw a hit to the other guy’s stomach, making him bend down and stumble backwards.  
“Eight thousand if you tackle him, tackle him!”  
And tackle the guy he did.

Kotetsu got headphones for himself. He liked music, a lot. Whenever Izumo wasn’t around, and even when he was, music was a constant company. There was no solo bus or train ride for Kotetsu without music. Even in Izumo’s company, the two sometimes enjoyed not talking and just sitting together, and Kotetsu would always pull out his earphones. But why stay at earphones that hurt shoved into his ears and with such poor sound quality when he could have a pair of brand new, cushioned, jet black headphones with bass potency?  
“Look, my ma said it’s a gift from my uncle!” Kotetsu said when he showed Izumo the box, and Izumo just gasped happily and cheered for his gift.

Kotetsu tried out his headphones that night, lying on bed, and he could lose himself so easily in the clear, clean, god delicious music, he was sure he would never take the headphones off ever again.

After a while coming and going with this fighter, Kotetsu finally managed to pin him down.  
“Seven thousand for a black eye!”  
And well, it wasn’t like this guy had to worry about facial bruises, so what harm could it make? So Kotetsu threw his fist at that eye.

“Hey, ‘Ru, you at work, right?” Kotetsu asked through the phone while Izumo was at the bathroom at their workplace.  
“Kotetsu, I don’t mean to sound rude but it should be kind of fucking obvious” his friend answered with that passive-aggressive sassiness of his that had Kotetsu rolling the eyes but not helping a big amused smile. “Seriously? You ask a kindergarten teacher, on a Monday at eleven am, if he’s at _work?”_  
“Hey, first of all, how dare you cuss like that in front of your kiddies!”  
“I’m not a moron, they’re out of earshot!”  
“And I mean, you could’ve called in sick!” Kotetsu complained ignoring him. “You could’ve skipped work, you could’ve been sent to a meeting, you could’ve-”  
“I’m at work, Ko, what’s up?” Iruka interrupted with a laugh.  
“Your lunch break is in an hour, right?” Kotetsu asked, taking a careful look of the hallway for any sight of Izumo, but finding the coast clear.  
“Yeah?”  
“You go to the gates at that hour, okay?”  
“…Kotetsu, I swear to whatever god there is that if you and Izumo skipped work to play some prank on me or something-”  
“Just go to the door, oh my _god,_ Iruka” Kotetsu laughed. Then, seeing Izumo appear in the hallway, Kotetsu looked away and lowered the voice. “Gotta go, bye.”

An hour later, Kotetsu’s phone ringed. Seeing Iruka’s name on it, he pressed the option to send him a text that said he couldn’t pick up, hoping Iruka thought it was because of work, while he continued filling paperwork sat across from an Izumo that was very much focused in his own.  
A text made his phone buzz.  
_I: Wow, Ko, that’s so nice of you._  
_I: Idk what to do with my lunch, though, but I’ll figure something out, there’s no way I’m eating what I brought when now I have some damn good Ichiraku to go for lunch._  
Then a photo of the food and Iruka’s thumb up.  
_I: Thank you so much, Ko! But I do want to ask, why? It’s not my bday. Am I missing some anniversary of something or smth?_

Kotetsu couldn’t help a smile as he picked his phone up and started texting back.  
_K: It’s just bc ur a good friend, Ru. I thought it’d be a nice way to make ur Monday happier._  
_K: What with u always being so cranky, too, so like, gotta feed the beast to keep it happy, am I rite_

The answer took only a second.  
_I: I’d strangle you with a noodle from my beautiful Ichiraku bowl I have here if I wasn’t appreciating you so much right you._

Kotetsu couldn’t help a low laugh.  
“I’d smack that phone off your hands and remind you we’re working if you weren’t smiling so much, Ko” Izumo said without lifting his eyes off his papers. “Got a crush?”  
“Nah, it’s just Iruka being an idiot” Kotetsu replied happily. Izumo replied with a knowing ‘ah’, and asked him to tell Iruka he said hi. 

Kotetsu stumbled back into the crowd, which, like a trampoline, seemed to catch him only to throw him back in.  
“Nine thousand if you kick him on the face!”  
Fiercely motivated, Kotetsu worked his adrenaline as best as he could, dodged and attacked, until finally he managed to make the guy stumble backwards. He went in to attack in a combo of hits until he found an opening, and he threw a foot up as high as he could, and kicked the guy right on the face. The guy fell backwards, knocked out. The crowd still asked Kotetsu to keep going, raising another five thousand, but he declined and left with what he had already earned.

“Oi, Izumo.”  
“Eh?” Izumo turned, just in time for a large piece of clothing to land right onto his face. He heard Kotetsu snort, wheeze, and start laughing. Pouting, Izumo took the cloth away of his face and shot an unimpressed, sarcastic look at his friend, before spreading the piece of cloth in his hands and looking down at it. His frown was instantly changed by a look of surprise. “Wh-?” he looked up. “Kotetsu! Where did you get this!?”  
“Saw it online. Had some spare cash” Kotetsu said while he plopped down on the couch next to his friend, lifting his legs and resting them on Izumo’s lap. “Thought of you, so like, happy…no-birthday.”  
“Ko, it’s so nice!” Izumo said happily but still with a little gasp of surprise as he looked down at the dark grey and black shirt, wearing proudly the emblem of one of Izumo’s favorite bands, sadly not that popular to easily find merchandise of. “And it’s good quality, all I’d found so far is homemade prints that wash away after some months!”

It was also a three-quarter sized sleeved shirt because Izumo didn’t like short sleeves or tank tops, the shy…idiot, he had such nice arms, it was so silly he wasn’t going around showing off, but that was ok, whatever he felt comfortable with was perfect. Kotetsu saw as Izumo eyed his new shirt for a bit, excited eyes bright and surprised but big smile on. Then, Izumo looked up at him and gave him such a genuine and bright smile that every bruise hidden under his clothes stopped aching.  
“Thank you, Ko!”

Kotetsu just replied with a happy smile.

“Ten thousand five hundred if you throw him down only with your legs!”

It took quite a while, Kotetsu still keeping his fists up to protect his face, and trying to aim as best as possible with the legs. The guys of the warehouse had gotten to know him better and knew he took easy challenges too…well, easily, so they were throwing in obnoxious requests just to try him. Kotetsu could handle it, though. The other guy, apparently, seemed to work out for muscle build, but nothing for flexibility. It was obvious he wasn’t sure how to handle a whole throwing down with only legs.  
Kotetsu did. Izumo was way better with leg attacks, but they were sparring buddies so he tried to put in action what he knew from his friend. So, after fighting for a good while and finding an opening, Kotetsu threw a kick, another, he turned over himself and threw another, and he managed to knock the guy down as the crowd cheered.

“’Tetsu…” his mom said in a bit of a sigh, looking away from the bills in her hands up to his eyes. She looked at him with a worried, surprised look. “But where did you get this from?”  
“Ma, you’re acting like I gave you a million” Kotetsu said with a low chuckle. “It’s just a bit extra.”  
“Yeah, but I don’t need it” she said as she offered the bills back. “You can use these to add to your uni loans, I don’t- I don’t need it, the faster you pay that debt-”  
“Ma” Kotetsu called warmly and covered her hand with both of his. He gave her a serious but warm look. “I’ve been earning more at my job. I’m not getting promoted only because all the slots are occupied, but they’re recognizing my work and I’m getting a bit unofficial extra for it” he explained as to clear the question of why he hadn’t just added this to the normal deposit, which he clearly couldn’t do because Izumo would see that next time he did budget review. “I’m still adding to my uni debt, it’s all still the same, I just want you to have this extra.”

His mother still put up some resistance. Kotetsu had struggled with that at first, too, being used to extra money when he started part-time jobs during high school. He guessed his mom had to have more troubles at grasping the concept. Having grown up so many years with money that was just the right amount to be enough, an extra, even if just a bit like these five thousand Kotetsu was offering, had to feel like twenty thousand.  
She ended up accepting it, and accepting Kotetsu’s condition of using it to get something she wanted, not something she needed. 

Her goodbye kiss was the same than always, because her love wasn’t based on money. But no one could deny that in this world that put prices to basic things like food and water, and to entertainment, and everything, a little extra made anyone happier, which was obvious in her smile. It made him take the bus feeling such confidence and completeness that he wasn’t sure he had experience before, like knowing his mom happier made it all not just worth it, but like all life missions were accomplished.

Kotetsu hissed quietly as he pressed the alcohol-covered cotton ball to his lip, cursing mentally and trying to clean it as best as possible. Fuck, he had been careless, Izumo was going to notice the broken lip. Fuck, an excuse, Kotetsu needed an excuse. Then again, it was pretty late so maybe if he just said hi to Izumo from his door without turning lights on, the next day he could pretend to have cut while shaving, or to have bitten his lip.  
He made sure to finish cleaning himself up until looking decent, and shoved his eight thousand seven hundred all the way to the bottom of his pockets so they wouldn’t drop out by accident.

“Got a new game!” Kotetsu sung as he appeared from behind Izumo, sat on the couch, and dangled the box in front of his eyes. Izumo was soon gasping and taking the game from his hands.  
“No way!” Izumo exclaimed. “Another one so soon!?”  
“Yeah, well, this one isn’t so popular so the price was very low” Kotetsu lied because hell no, that wasn’t popular but it was still the same price as the other just-released games. “I was at the store just to get a look and figured, I’ve got enough for it, and it has the anime style that Izumo likes so much, so. Enjoy.”  
“But Ko, this is just for one player” Izumo said as he turned around and knelt on the couch to face his friend. Kotetsu had to take a step back so Izumo wouldn’t just head-smack him by accident. “I feel kinda bad, you used _your_ money for this? No, you- you play it first.”

Kotetsu laughed as Izumo pressed the game to his chest.  
“Ne, Izumo, you know I’m more into shooters” Kotetsu said as he took the box, and, copying Izumo, he pressed it onto Izumo’s chest this time. “You’re the RPG nerd. Especially anime RPG.”  
“First of all, how _dare_ you call me an anime nerd!” Izumo complained. “I am, but how dare you say that to my face!?” and while Kotetsu laughed, Izumo took the box, and slammed it again on his chest. “But that’s not the point, it’s your money, it’s your game!”  
“Oh my god, Izumo, it was literally two thousand yen, it was so cheap, it doesn’t hurt to give it away, it hurts that you don’t accept it!” Kotetsu took the box and this time he smacked it onto Izumo’s face, making his friend’s hands fly up as if to avoid it, not getting it on time, and just humming in surprise behind the box. “You hadn’t rejected one of my gifts in like ten years, I’ll hate you so much if you don’t take it, Kamizuki!”

Izumo just proceeded to screech in his face, to which Kotetsu replied with a screech of his own. Izumo was really bad at taking compliments and became a disaster that could very much smack the other person and run away, and just as bad he was at receiving unexpected gifts. Kotetsu had told him all through his life that he didn’t need a special occasion to be worthy of a gift, and Izumo had gradually accepted it. It wasn’t rare that Kotetsu got something for him, but it was rarely ever something big like a new game. It was always second-hand games or other things. He should have guessed a very new-looking thing would trigger him into this, but, honestly? It was kind of amusing so he just spent the rest of his evening in the funny argument, chasing Izumo around and screeching at each other until he accepted the game. 

At that point of their lives, their neighbors were so used to these two idiots yelling compliments at each other like it was a serious fight that nobody complained anymore.

And so, the next nights, Kotetsu would wake up from a first round of sleep and go get some water only to find Izumo curled up in a blanket so only his face could be seen, hypnotized by the screen, and playing with his new game that had him so addicted and that had, quote, ‘ruined his life’. It was kind of cute, though, and really nice to see him so entertained and invested in a new RPG world. He only wished Izumo wouldn’t be doing this during work nights, but the one time he tried to tell Izumo to sleep, Izumo made this weird noise at him and Kotetsu knew better than to get this RPG, anime lover gargoyle off his magic combats and cut-scenes.  
Well, a bit sleep deprived, but at least he was happy.

“Nine thousand if you elbow him on the face!”  
So elbow him he did.

It was movie night with the boys. Kotetsu waited a bit too eager in the line of the snacks, accompanied by Raidou. Once they were a person away from their turn, Genma and Izumo approached to tell them what they wanted in the order.  
“Hey guys, wanna know what?” Kotetsu started. “Today, snacks are on me. All of them.”  
“Kotetsu, really?” Raidou asked a bit too happily with huge bright eyes, Genma’s jaw dropping until he almost dropped his toothpick, and turning to face him better, and Izumo looking at him with some surprise.  
“Yeah, I saved up for today!” Kotetsu said lightheartedly with a kiddy smile. “And I’ve got enough to spare! You ask for whatever the hell you want!”  
“Really!?” Raidou insisted. 

When Kotetsu said yes, Raidou made this weird noise that made the others laugh. Some minutes later, Genma and Raidou were both working together to try to fill their two trays with the four giant sized buckets of popcorn, the four slushies, two sodas, three hot-dogs, five chocolates, a pack of gummies, and two trays of nachos with extra cheese.  
“Ko, are you sure you can pay all of this?” Izumo asked him in a worried whisper while the other two chanted like happy kids working on their overloaded trays. “Do you need some?”  
“No, no, Zum, it’s ok, I really did save up for this” Kotetsu replied happily. His friend gave him a bit of a worried look. “Genma’s been waiting for this movie for like a year, so I thought it’d be a nice little detail.”  
“You’re too nice, Ko” Izumo said with a smile a bit too sweet that made Kotetsu’s smile turn wider and shier as he laughed nervously, hands toying timidly. 

“Eight thousand for a broken nose!”  
So Kotetsu put all his strength into his fist as it crashed with a face.

Izumo sat down at his usual desk from whenever they had to do paperwork. As he was sitting, however, he eyed his workplace, eyes a bit wide and movements becoming slow until he sat at his chair and stared.  
“Hey. Ko” he called after a while in silence. Kotetsu, trying to play dumb, just hummed distractedly in response. “Where’d all this stuff come from?”  
“Oh?”

Kotetsu, finally, looked up to get a look of what Izumo was doing. His friend currently sat at his chair a bit awkwardly, like it was his first day at his first job all over again, and just staring confusedly at his supplies like he had no idea what they were for and too afraid to ask.  
“Oh” Kotetsu said distractedly and faking it meant nothing as he went back to his work. “I just guessed the stuff we’d been using was pretty old and lame so I went supply shopping for both of us.”

And Izumo, curious, started roaming through the new things on his desk. A new whole set of markers instead of the old dry ones, a functioning stapler that they didn’t need to smash like it was a boulder, even a tape dispenser instead of just keeping the tape lying around freely, one of those fancy automatic sharpeners instead of the tiny manual ones, new sets arranged in color order of sticky notes, and a bunch of new, long pencils, and what was best, new pens.

The pens were still in the box, and it was that gesture that made Izumo smile the most; Kotetsu knew of his nerdy petty love for pens (‘they’re kinda fancy, make me feel like I’m a functional adult, eh? When you have a clipboard, hold up your pen and you go ‘click’? Man, I love my job, I love pens and I love using pens at my job’). He looked at them; it was a set of three, each a different color (because Izumo kept a strict color order in his stuff), of expensive looking pens. Less than a fountain pen, of course, but still not something you bought for an office. 

“They’re different colors” Izumo couldn’t help the comment as he held the box in hands. Kotetsu hummed in agreement.  
“Also got those sticky tab dividers you like so much. Color coded, as you like them, my Lord” he mentioned and Izumo was gasping happily as if though he had been told they were giving him the day free. Kotetsu couldn’t help a little laugh. “How are you such a nerd, Izumo?”  
“I’m not a nerd, I’m functional, it’s different!” Izumo complained as he started opening the pen package. “Colors help keep track and order, you know, all the data we have to arrange would be chaos otherwise.”

Kotetsu just hummed again, smiling to himself as he focused back in his paperwork and continued working on it.  
“Wow, Ko, this is all so good!” Izumo cheered from his spot, looking at everything again like a kid in a stationery store for the first time. “Thank you so much! Do you want- I feel kind of bad that you bought it all for both of us, do you want some money to make up for it a bit?”  
“No, leave it at that” Kotetsu looked up at him with a smile. Izumo couldn’t help but give him a bright smile back.  
“Thank you, Ko, this is so nice of you. Really.”

Kotetsu just hummed to himself again, but he couldn’t help the delight that warmed his chest and made him smile more. He looked back down at his paperwork and pretended to go back to it…and, meanwhile, he subtly looked at Izumo from the corner of his eye. He watched as his friend once more explored all his new trinkets and gadgets, until he sighed, sat back, pulled out a folder, searched through it, took out his first paper of the day, set it down, and finally, finally, reached to grab his usual pencil that Kotetsu had very much on purpose put in its place upside down.

As soon as Izumo grabbed his pencil and noticed the intruder, he looked at it with surprise, and then he wheezed and snorted in one same sound that made him hide his face behind a hand out of embarrassment, but he couldn’t help and start laughing. Kotetsu, sat across him, kept trying to pretend he had no idea as Izumo turned red in the face from laughing, until he had to use a finger to wipe away tears of laughter.  
“Kotetsu!” Izumo whined.

Then, Izumo made sure to take his new accessory off his pencil; meant to be put on the rubber end of it, a squishy, pink penis with cute little sparkly eyes.  
While he still laughed, Izumo threw it at Kotetsu’s side of the table.  
“Eat some.”  
“Oof” Kotetsu huffed, “I wish.”  
“Kotetsu!”

Izumo accidentally summoned their immediate boss on them from snorting and laughing a tad bit too loud. 

“Seven thousand for landing ten hits in a row!”  
So Kotetsu’s fists flew one after the other, until he counted ten, and stopped right there.

Kotetsu tried on his new sneakers. It had been so long since he had had brand new ones, and never since he had a pair this expensive. They were incredibly comfy, and they looked so good. Knowing that there was no way Izumo, the “I notice every detail of a person” detective, would not notice, Kotetsu decided to show him, because showing his crimes right on Izumo’s face would actually, paradoxically, make him look less suspicious. Izumo couldn’t find what Kotetsu didn’t hide.  
“Hey, Zum, look at my new shoes!” he said as he walked out of his room and showed his friend, who immediately wowed and went down on his ankles to admire them like they were a shiny rock.

And Kotetsu felt confident because Izumo knew a lot of so many things, but he had never been interested in the sneakers world like Kotetsu, so not only did he not know the price of these, but didn’t imagine, and didn’t want to find out either.  
Easy.

“Nine thousand five hundred if you tackle him!”  
And Kotetsu did, this was one of the easiest and still most requested petitions, so what the heck, he threw himself at the other guy like a damn ram.

Kotetsu, in Izumo’s room, took one of his favorite books from the shelf. He looked at it and smiled. After putting it back in place, he walked out to the living room, where he found Izumo cleaning the window.  
“Ne, Izumo” he called. The other guy just hummed, but, when Kotetsu didn’t go on, he took it as a sign of this being a more serious conversation, so he put down the cloth and turned to look at his friend.  
“What’s wrong, Ko?”  
“I was wondering, how much have you saved up for your collector’s edition of your books?” 

Izumo blinked at first, from the distance in between only one of his eyes visible, as the other was easily hidden behind his fringe. He looked up, a finger to his chin as he thought.  
“Hm, well, it’s been a while since I added to it, but if I remember right, I’m at thirty-seven thousand.”  
“Ah, really!?” Kotetsu faked his surprise.  
“Ah- y-yes, I think so…why?”  
“I was just checking my back account on the phone and I figured I have some extra from what I’ve been saving up, and, Zum, I think I can cover the other fourteen thousand!”  
“Wh-” Izumo started, but his gasp was so sharp he choked on air for a moment, then stayed frozen until he could snap out of it. “What!?”

Kotetsu didn’t repeat. He just smiled brightly at Izumo and nodded. To be honest, he could cover more than that. He could cover the entire price, but he couldn’t just throw that out.  
“Kotetsu, you can’t do that!”  
“No, no, that’s the best part, that I can!” Kotetsu said even more excitedly. “That’s literally a spare I don’t need right now!”  
“But Ko, that’s your money, and you’ve already gotten me that shirt and the game and the figurine, I can’t accept that!”  
“No, Izumooooo!” Kotetsu whined as he got closer to his friend. “Think about it this way! You’ve always gotten me gifts, too, and this isn’t even a gift, it’s not even a quarter of the price, it’s just the last push you need to get it!” Izumo still gave him an upset look, unconvinced. “And think about it this way; what if you wait so long until you have all the money yourself, that they run out of copies to sell?” Kotetsu gave him a warning look. “It’s happened to you before, and with books less meaningful to you than this.”

Izumo blinked at him and then looked away, but there was this ghost of a shy, eager smile on his lips. Kotetsu smiled.  
“Izumo, please, let me do this for you. I literally don’t need that spare right now!”

Izumo was soon biting down on his lip, like trying to contain himself from the temptation, but his little smile grew and grew.  
“…would you…really do that for me, Ko?”  
“Of course!” Kotetsu cheered and grabbed Izumo’s hands in his own, a bit too excitedly. “The best for the best!”

Izumo stared at him with slightly parted lips and big eyes of surprise for a moment. No matter how long he stared, all he found in Kotetsu’s face was the same look of happy determination, not a trace of doubt, and even eagerness, like this would be more a gift to him than to Izumo.  
A minute later, Izumo was giving him this huge, happy smile, and before Kotetsu could ask something, Izumo was throwing his arms around him.  
“You’re the best, Ko, I don’t deserve you!” 

Kotetsu laughed and hugged back for a moment, before breaking apart and taking Izumo by the wrist, starting to head to the door.  
“Let’s go!”  
“N-no! Not today!”

Izumo tried breaking free, but Kotetsu kept dragging him until Izumo dropped onto the floor so his weight would be too much for Kotetsu to keep dragging. Kotetsu laughed at him.  
“Izumo, what are you doing!?” he laughed. “Didn’t you just say yes to buying it? Let’s go!”  
“But not today!”  
“But why not?”  
“Because I’m not mentally prepared!” Izumo yelped from his spot on the floor, wrist still in Kotetsu’s grip. “Kotetsu, those books are special to me, they’re _intimate,_ I can’t just buy them like that! I need to be mentally prepared, it’s got to be special!”

Honestly, Kotetsu had never understood that train of thoughts from his friend, because it wasn’t the first time. Izumo hated starting new shows or watching new movies at random moments, he had to plan it forehand. Said something about making it special, and honestly Kotetsu still didn’t understand how planning forehand made it any more special than starting it just at random, but that had been the way Izumo functioned since kindergarten, and Kotetsu just rolled with it. Whatever made him more comfortable, and mostly, happier. So he waited.

It was until the weekend that Izumo agreed to go get his box of books. He practically dashed his way through the square, and then braked a bit too harsh once at the door of the bookstore, suddenly paralyzed. Kotetsu had to grab him by the wrist and pull him inside. Even inside, Izumo shied away and instead of going straight to the counter, he stayed wandering around awkwardly until a worker approached and asked if he was looking for something specific.  
“A…Actually…” he started with a wide but shy smile, cheeks colored, and only continued when Kotetsu giggled behind him and gave him a little push. “Y-yeah, I am…”

Five minutes later, Izumo was jumping slightly on his toes to release some of his very obvious but also very much contained excitement, waiting as they printed out the receipt, handed it to him, and then gave him their biggest bag with a large square inside. Izumo grabbed it, thanked them a bit breathless, and then walked out of the store trying to look normal and just coming off as a robot trying to learn to act normal. Once outside, Kotetsu gave him a wide smile, but Izumo just did this weird noise in a shaky sigh, and walked away.  
It was until Kotetsu caught up with him around the corner that Izumo, hugged to the box, yelled out in joy.

Kotetsu burst out laughing, but he was soon joining Izumo in energy and yelled back at him. Izumo yelled louder, hugged his box, swung side to side and ran in his spot, turned over himself, and then went down on his knees.  
“It’s mine!” he yelled to the skies, nuzzling the box lovingly. “It’s _mine!”_

Kotetsu laughed and couldn’t help but keep chuckling all the way back home, watching Izumo stay hugged to his box like his life depended on it and nuzzling it with all the love of the world. Kotetsu was sure there were parents that loved their kids less than Izumo loved his new box of books.  
It had looked like Izumo had been so immersed in his box that he had forgotten about Kotetsu, which honestly the latter didn’t mind. Izumo loved these books more than any other hobby or passion he had, and it was a really good looking and collector’s edition. Of course he would be melting over it. 

Once home, Izumo rushed to the living room’s table to put down his box like it was made of crystal. Kotetsu stood close ready to watch him tear open the paper that covered it, but, instead of that, he was unexpectedly attacked by an Izumo that jumped onto him so suddenly that, even though Izumo stayed tightly clutched to him squeezing him with both arms and legs, Kotetsu fell back.  
It hurt a bit, especially with all the bruises he still kept a secret.  
But Izumo murmuring ‘Thank you’ warmly and sweetly while still hugged to him like a damn koala made that pain feel so microscopic as compared to this treasured moment.

Kotetsu was particularly careful with covering his face as to not get any bruise he wouldn’t be able to hide; it resulted in him not being fast enough to cover a blow to his tummy.  
The crowd let out a collective ‘Ow’ as he stumbled backwards and fell, immediately dodging as to avoid the guy trying to stomp on him. In the same movement, Kotetsu ignored his aching tummy and threw himself at the guy, successfully tackling him, and getting the vantage back.  
Profusely sweating, mouth bloodied, and raging, Kotetsu got on him and punched him on the face to not let him get back up.

“Nine thousand if you knock him out!”  
“Ten thousand if you break his nose!”  
“Twelve thousand if he spits out a tooth!”

Kotetsu wasn’t even sure which bet he went for. He just kept slamming his fist into his ninth opponent of the day until he passed out, and a bit more. Just to play it safe.

Kotetsu had way too much money under his mattress. Having to be cautious so Izumo wouldn’t notice and hence not spending as much as he would’ve wanted, it kept piling up and piling up.  
One day, he didn’t care anymore if Izumo questioned him. He would think of a believable lie. But he had to do it.

Kotetsu looked up online for a good couple days, visited the store twice before making a choice. Kept it a secret from Izumo for about a week, and the excitement of telling him, the idea of how he would react when Kotetsu showed him. It was so thrilling that he kept catching Goosebumps at random times of the day, giggling to himself, being this giddy disaster that tried his best to keep it a secret and not spoil the surprise.

And finally, one Saturday, Kotetsu went alone to the store, got what he wanted, and went back home.  
“Ne, Izumo, I’ve got something to show you!” was all that Kotetsu said as he, having waited outside the building, watched Izumo arrive. Dragging a curious looking best friend with him, Kotetsu took him into the parking lot.

Izumo’s gasp was so huge, Kotetsu was sure he would catch an aneurysm from that.  
“No way!” Izumo yelled. “No way!”

After watching Kotetsu with huge eyes, and looking around to see if it was a joke, Izumo dashed forwards and stared from up close at the new bike.  
“No way, Kotetsu!” he yelled again. “How did you get this!?”  
“I’ll be honest with you” Kotetsu said with a smile. “I’ve been saving up behind your back and…well, I saw this at a second-hand shop, finally had enough for it, and there we go.”

And it wasn’t a lie, none of it, so that was the perfect thing to say. He had thought that Izumo would question him further, but he looked so excited, he forgot, and merely reached to grab Kotetsu by the wrist and pull him closer.  
“Let’s try it, let’s try it out!” he yelled like an excited kid, and soon enough, both were discussing who got to ride it first and where the other had to go.

The bike, second-hand in amazing conditions, had a seat for a passenger on the back, and a basket on the front, meant for things. Not being a thing, of course, wasn’t impediment for them to try fitting their asses in it. 

The rest of the evening went between the two at the closest park and some alleyways just testing out the bike, taking turns. Kotetsu rode while Izumo stood behind, hands on Kotetsu’s shoulders; Izumo rode while Kotetsu sat behind him; trying out sitting in the basket turned out in Kotetsu falling face-first into the ground and Izumo figuring he could fit if he did it sideways and didn't mind getting stuck for five minutes. They also tried one riding while the other sat on the handlebar. Thankfully, they didn’t crash into a bush or a wall, but they did panic a bit as they tried to figure how to stop, ending up in Izumo jumping off and stumbling a bit and Kotetsu trying to not lose balance as he braked, before both burst out laughing.

They later on discussed and decided to start using the bike not just on free days, but to go to work. It wasn’t too close, but not that far, either, and they had relatively easy access to the two main boulevards that went almost in a straight line there, and they could save up the bus money, and do exercise all at the same time. So starting that Monday, the two put their uniforms in a single backpack, and instead of heading to the bus stop, they took out their bike, and rode there.

Just like their first day trying it out, they took turns, and enjoyed the ride whatever seat they were on. Sometimes Kotetsu rode, and Izumo sat behind him. Sometimes, when Izumo rode, Kotetsu enjoyed sitting behind him facing backwards, curious to see the city behind them and not just ahead. 

One day, Izumo had asked Kotetsu rode, and Kotetsu had no troubles with it. He had some pretty bad bruises and scrapes from his last fighting night, so pedaling was a bit of a struggle that made some of them burn. He was thankful that Izumo was sat behind him so he couldn’t see whenever he winced, and tried to not show himself too tense.  
Sometimes, Izumo held to the seat. Sometimes he held to Kotetsu, and none found it weird or uncomfortable. Two bros being bros, right? 

That one morning, Izumo had asked Kotetsu to ride because he was particularly sleepy. So it didn’t take Kotetsu off guard when, while he calmly rode to their workplace, with Izumo softly hugged to him from behind, Izumo gently rested the side of his head to Kotetsu’s back for the rest of the ride, maybe to rest a bit, Kotetsu guessed. He subtly glanced and smiled. The sensation of Izumo hugged to him like that made him feel an ease that soothed all his hidden wounds. 

He sighed and decided that this new lifestyle was wonderful. What were a couple bruises and some minor scrapes, when he was riding a bike he had always wanted to have, to his work that he liked, with his best friend hugged to him like that, relaxed, content, and happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Two bros being bros, right?" help how are they so obliviouS AHLSDKFG
> 
> PS: Izumo would absolutely be a book nerd in modern AU, fight me


	4. Chapter 4

Kotetsu cursed under his breath as his character missed a jump for the millionth time, making him go all the way back to the start of the level. He waited for his character to respawn, and so he went to his million and first try at getting over that level.

Izumo, sat at the dining table, stared at the paper he held in hand with a frown. He re-read everything on it, following some of the scribbles on it with the tip of a pencil, and then checked the multiple papers sprawled before him at the table, before going back to the one in his hand.  
“Tetsu?”  
“Hm?”

After a pause, Kotetsu paused the game and looked over at Izumo. His friend stared at the paper in his hand like it was written in a foreign language that he couldn’t for the love of god decipher.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“It’s just…budget math isn’t adding up” Izumo said both to himself and to Kotetsu, frowning even more at the paper. Kotetsu felt his heart skip a beat, and he tried to think at the speed of light.  
“Oh…uh…we’re missing money?” he asked as innocently as he could.  
“No, it’s- it’s the other way around” Izumo said with a tone and a look that said that this surprised him even more than Kotetsu’s suggestion. Izumo looked up at his friend with the same puzzled look. “We’re spending more than we’re supposed to have.”

“Oh” was all that Kotetsu could think after a bit of a pause. He shrugged and tried keeping up the casual look. “Well, maybe it’s from the spare from other months that I’ve been keeping and been finally spending. Maybe there’s some of your spare, too, you know, cent by cent it went up to…however excess we spent this month?”

Izumo looked at the paper again with a worried frown. They remained awfully quiet for a while, Kotetsu staring at him, calm outside and heart pounding inside, while Izumo frowned at his paper.  
After a god awful minute, Izumo’s shoulders dropped and his frown eased.  
“Yeah. That’s probably it” Izumo said and finally smiled again, looking over at Kotetsu with that sincere look. “I’m going to give it another look, but that must be it. Thanks, Ko.”  
“Yeah, don’t worry too much, Zum” Kotetsu grinned. “You’re always so sharp in this, there’s no way you’d miss a big, weird thing or fraud. Probably just spare we’ve left in our wallets and tables.”  
“Yeah, not everything is registered in paper” Izumo agreed. “I just love papers, you know? They make this easier.”  
“Neeeeeeeeeeeerd-” a paper ball hit Kotetsu’s head. “Izumo!”  
“And I’d do that again, sit down and go back to your game!”

Laughing while Izumo chuckled, both went back to their activities. Kotetsu focused a bit in hearing what Izumo was doing, hearing the shuffling of papers, calm and quiet, until he could release a subtle breath and go back to his game.  
Good heavens. It felt like a close one. But thankfully, Izumo remained clueless.

°˖✧°˖✧

The thing about Izumo was that he was stupidly intelligent. Truly, it was _absurd_ how smart he was. Kotetsu had distracted him since they were in kindergarten and he still somehow passed all his tests with at least a B. Kotetsu was really trying his best at keeping things hidden from him, but Izumo was still catching on a couple things; even though Kotetsu thought he was acing the whole hiding winces and hisses, Izumo had asked him a couple times if he was okay. He had asked about the income of his sudden spare, he had pointed out he had been buying quite some stuff lately, he had given him a curious stare whenever Kotetsu said he had been saving or that it was a gift from someone or this or that.

Thankfully, he wouldn’t insist after Kotetsu reassured him…which, honestly, felt even worse because Izumo was doing the worst imaginable thing: he was fully, blindly trusting Kotetsu. He asked and questioned, but he didn’t _doubt._ If Kotetsu said it was a gift, it was a gift. If Kotetsu ever told him that it just magically appeared in his hands, it magically appeared in his hands. Well…not literally, Izumo was realistic, but Kotetsu had the sensation that whatever he told his friend, he would buy it, and it made him feel worse.

At least Izumo wasn’t questioning him or noticing any pattern, Kotetsu thought. He had asked a few times, distractedly and dismissively, and hadn’t given Kotetsu those smart, interrogating eyes, so, so far, Izumo was absolutely, completely clueless to all this.

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu, in charge of cooking as always, reached for one of the cupboards for the bowls of rice. He couldn’t help a quiet hiss as he stretched the arm at the sensation of a hurt shoulder.  
“You okay?” Izumo called from his spot at the nearby chair, reading a newspaper.  
“Ah- yeah, it’s nothing” Kotetsu gave him a lighthearted smile. “Stretched the wrong way and my muscle did a weird thing.”  
“Hm” Izumo blinked calmly at him, and went back to the newspaper. “But you insist on not stretching in the morning.”  
“I stretch!”  
“I mean properly.”  
“That’s because it looks dumb.”  
“Fine, keep getting random cramps, then.”

Kotetsu pouted at him, but Izumo just gave him one of his smart smiles and went back to his stuff. Kotetsu turned back to cooking, and tried containing a little sigh.

°˖✧°˖✧

Despite the endless things he could do with his new extra money, Kotetsu couldn’t settle down a hundred percent right in this lifestyle. It was lying to Izumo what made it so bad. It was keeping this a secret from him and lying what made this not a hundred percent perfect. He had never lied to him, not this long and this bad, and he had never kept something this big from him before. Izumo was…well, his best friend, he knew him more than anyone in the world, his family included. Izumo was his inspiration and kind of a hero. Kotetsu had both silently and explicitly followed many steps of Izumo’s example, mostly in the ethic part of life. He was his best friend, confidant, role model, and companion of life. Hiding something from him, lying…it felt so wrong. 

Kotetsu had tried multiple times to tell him, he really did. He didn’t really mean to keep it a secret forever. He just…couldn’t find a way to tell him. Kotetsu was mildly scared of how Izumo would react. He knew that it sounded bad, ‘I’m street fighting for money’. It wasn’t as bad as it sounded, he just needed to find a way to word it right so Izumo could see the real picture. He thought that maybe, if he mentally prepared him before telling him, it could work out fine. So he tried starting at their job.

They both worked at the Leaf Community Hospital, not in the health area or building, but in the psychology laboratory wing. Mostly, and in theory, that is. They did spend most of their time working for Morino Ibiki, head psychiatrist at both the lab and the hospital. It was just that recently the new director of the hospital, Lady Tsunade, had started snatching them as _her_ assistants whenever she could. It wasn’t bad, not really. She was a phenomenal doctor both in skills and ethically, and a fun person when she wasn’t working or stressed. Only problems were that she was quite bossy, and rather lazy at paperwork so it was always them who ended up fixing the mess, but if Kotetsu dared say that aloud again, Izumo was going to start lecturing him again about how they were behind all the work of one of the most important doctors of the country and how they basically were the ones keeping the hospital up if you think about it and how dare you think assistant is not the most honorable job, what the fuck Kotetsu.

Izumo was normally better at organizing data and files. Kotetsu worked in that area as intensely, but Izumo was faster. While Kotetsu did get into practical jobs more often, Izumo preferred staying hugged to his theory, endless files, and sticky notes. So even though they were normally doing the same job together, that one time, despite being in the same room, they were working in different things. Ibiki was about to run a study on people between twenty and forty with recently diagnosed or even undiagnosed conduct disorder. Ibiki had spoken about how it was normally so easily diagnosed in children and teenagers, and how interesting it was to see someone make it to adulthood without being diagnosed. Izumo had said cool! Ibiki then spoke about how hiding it for so long could be achieved by some sociopaths with incredible lying and mental manipulation skills so that room may be filled of potential killers, or even active killers, isn’t that cool? Izumo had said cool again, except Kotetsu had to hold back a laugh from seeing his friend’s obvious face that said he was trying so hard to not ask their boss what the fuck.

The volunteers for the study had all but one arrived for an individual interview. Ibiki had gotten tired of waiting for the last one, so he merely pointed at Kotetsu, stopped before talking, and pointed at Izumo instead.  
“You’re in charge now.”  
“Wh-”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Bu- you were pointing at me, why did you reconsider?”

Izumo and Ibiki both gave Kotetsu a _look._ Honestly, it was so clear that Kotetsu could only pout a bit too dramatically and looked away, crossing his arms. Oh come on, he was responsible! It was not his fault Izumo was _overly_ responsible and made Kotetsu look irresponsible in contrast, it wasn’t…okay, so yes, maybe Kotetsu took a few breaks every now and then when he wasn’t supposed to, and maybe he sometimes sneaked snacks in, and okay, maybe he sometimes went to hang out with the nurses and doctors in the hospital wing when he wasn’t supposed to, and maybe it was Izumo who always had to put him in back in line, but that was only every now and then! 

As soon as Ibiki closed the door, Izumo was smiling that stupid smug little smile at his paperwork that said he was going to tease Kotetsu for the rest of the day. Throwing a paper ball at him before he said anything just gave Izumo an excuse to tease him even more. Truth be told, Izumo staying in charge was not actually bad. Indeed, it was the best thing Kotetsu could have ever asked for. He sometimes complained about Izumo being too uptight, but honestly? He wouldn’t have it any other way. Right now he could have been bossed around by some idiot instead. Izumo sometimes did exaggerate when it came to work, but he was chill, didn’t make a drama out of things like taking shoes off, or even skipping a work day for not feeling mentally alright. Kotetsu sometimes felt that others had a wrong perspective on Izumo just because he worked a bit too hard and seemed like that one annoying kid that was the teacher’s snitch in school, but Izumo wasn’t that. He cared. If any of them got a promotion any time soon, that would be Izumo, and Kotetsu thought he would make a wonderful and understanding boss, yet firm and fair. 

What a man that was, what a good, great man Izumo was, Kotetsu really admired him. For everything! He was really smart, he was so hard-working and productive, he was so clean and organized, and-  
“Hey, guys?” the two turned to the door when they were called by a young intern. “The last volunteer just arrived.”

Kotetsu offered to do the interview, as to let Izumo enjoy of his paperwork. So while Izumo stayed with their written work, Kotetsu received the last volunteer in another room and ran the interview. It was a twenty-two year old guy that looked very uncomfortable to be there, half dragged in by his mother and half by own decision, expressing he did realize he was doing wrong whenever he did wrong, and wanted to change, just didn’t know how. ‘Have you tried going to therapy’ was a stupid question after the guy had said he thought therapy was for psychopaths only.

After dismissing the volunteer, Kotetsu went back to his usual spot. He found Izumo still sat at his computer, a bit lazily swinging on his chair while clicking the mouse quietly.  
“Hey” Izumo greeted. “How bad a case was that one?”  
“Not as bad as I thought” Kotetsu said while reaching for his own chair and dropping on it, looking at his notes. “Still, I can’t stop thinking about Ibiki saying ‘potential killers’ and ‘manipulative masters’.”  
“I’m telling you Ibiki works for some chunky secret agency that tracks potential criminals before they do the crimes, he’s just that smart.”  
“How cool would it be that he’s been an undercover agent all this time and even this study is a fake for a bigger thing?” a gasp. “What if he’s studying _you?”_  
“That would be _so_ cool!” Izumo cheered. Kotetsu grabbed a pen and pointed it at him like it was a sword.  
“Hold it, Izumo! If that’s even your nam-” before Kotetsu even processed it, a paper ball smacked him on the head. “Oi, Izumo! Not fair! You said no paper balls!”  
Izumo gave him wide eyes, a smile, and two index fingers up like asking him for a pause. And then, as dramatically as he could, Izumo asked like a breathy TV villain “But did I _mean it!?”_

The friendly fight with office supplies that followed only lasted a good ten minutes before the noise of a door made them dash back to their chairs and pretend it was all going smooth. However, after their colleague had made his leave, Izumo and Kotetsu just shared a snort and a laugh, and both went back to work. Kotetsu sighed and opened the program in his computer to start with the basics, just transferring the brute info to digital. When he reached the point of his notes of the wrong behaviors this guy had confessed so far (because Kotetsu caught a few glimpses in his behavior that no way, man, this guy still had a thing or two to say and will it be cool or scary if he does turn out to be a killer like Ibiki said oh my god), Kotetsu couldn’t help but start looking at them and saw an opportunity.

A study on conduct disorder, people that got into minor illegal activities…and he had just had a personal interview with one of them. He could use that to his favor. He subtly glanced at Izumo to see what he was doing, and then tried acting as casual as possible.  
“Will you look at that” Kotetsu commented as natural as ever. “Pick-pocketing, window breaking for fun, underage gambling…” he listed as he read through his list. He heard Izumo sigh as if saying ‘Wow’.  
“Yeah, these people have done quite some stuff” Izumo agreed. And like the world was cheering for Kotetsu and tried to align things for him, Izumo himself threw a useful question: “What’s the worst you’ve got in your files so far? From this study, I mean.”  
“Street fighting” he subtly glanced at Izumo. 

For a moment that felt a bit too long, it was quiet. Kotetsu’s heart pounded so heavy and loud in his chest that it went up to a slight throb in his head, nervous, feeling like Izumo could read his mind.  
“I mean, that’s not so bad” Izumo said almost dismissively, not even caring. Kotetsu looked at him a little less subtly, hope gleaming on his face. “I’ve got borderline _murder.”_  
“Oh?” Kotetsu asked in the same hushed dramatic excitement Izumo said that with. “Give me the gossip, Izumooooooo!”

And the street fighting matter stayed behind. Even though they hadn’t spoken enough about it as he wanted, Kotetsu knew better than to insist unless he wanted to come off as suspicious. So he tried waiting for any other kind of opening that would present itself to start hinting Izumo, and mostly, to start gathering info on how he would feel towards this whole issue should Kotetsu tell him. He meant- _when_ he told him, not if, because he was…going to tell him for sure. Right…

After they were done talking, they went back to work and remained quiet, back to working each on their papers and computers. Some minutes went by with only the ticking clock making any noise. Not helping it, Kotetsu yawned.  
“You shouldn’t be doing midweek escapades, Ko” Izumo told him from across the desk. “I mean, the ones you can avoid, I don’t mean your mom or uncle when they need you.”  
“Oh…yeah” Kotetsu said as naturally as he could manage. “I just want to keep Fridays and Saturday nights for you and the guys, you know. And Sunday’s outta the question, gotta wake up early the next day.”  
“Yeah. I imagine it gets kinda messy, working, friends, and a date” Izumo mused, getting distracted from his screen and looking upwards daydreaming, before he looked at Kotetsu with a bright, excited smile. “Speaking of which, how is it going?”  
“Ah- it’s…going fine, I think” Kotetsu said and shied away, not looking Izumo in the eye. “We’re taking it super slow, though, so…”

Izumo was happily nodding as he spoke.  
“That’s okay, you both go at your pace” Izumo said kindly. “What did you tell me this is? He, she, they…?”  
“Ah…it’s, it’s a she…” Kotetsu replied shyly, fingers nervously toying together.  
“Been a while since you dated a girl” Izumo insisted on this conversation that was making Kotetsu feel so nervous and so guilty and like a damn traitor, and he was doing it so _happily,_ it made it worse. “So bad you guys can only meet midweek after work…”  
“Yeah, I mean, it’s not so bad…” Kotetsu shrugged and looked absentmindedly at his screen, swinging slightly on his chair. “I come home happy. I just feel bad for you because I don’t know when I’m making noise and waking you up.”  
“Ne, ne, don’t worry about that” Izumo said as brightly, dismissing that with a hand gesture. “I’m happy that you’re seeing someone that makes you happy, so it’s okay. And you don’t make too much noise, so don’t worry.”

Kotetsu gave him a fake smile as genuine as he could make it. Izumo just chuckled back, and went back to work.  
Kotetsu subtly nibbled on his lower lip. His lies were getting unbelievable, he had gone help friends pack their furniture to move out, helped his mom with her pipes, babysat, gone to pick friends up from late night concerts, he was running out of things to tell Izumo as to why he was going out at nights, and in a moment of panic he just…blurted out he had a date. Like, a regular date, a person. It was the most believable he could think of, it gave him an excuse as to why it was so frequent and why at night, and, and…

Looking at the screen of his computer, Kotetsu sighed. Telling something good to his best friend shouldn’t feel this hard. At least Izumo had bought the whole imaginary date ordeal and remained clueless…

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu went into the apartment as quietly as he could, shoes already off to not make a noise even at the entrance, when-  
“Hey.”  
Kotetsu let out a yelp that he muffled as soon as it escaped. He kept the eyes closed for a moment before looking into the apartment.  
Izumo stood a few steps from him, in his pajamas, wrapped up in his videogame blanket (yes, he had a blanket specifically for his gaming nights).  
“Izumo, what the hell” Kotetsu whispered as his hand went from his mouth to his chest. “What were you trying to do, make me shit myself? Why are you standing here at the door?”  
“Oh, I wasn’t, I was playing my game” Izumo replied with a happy smile as Kotetsu finished coming in, closing the door behind him and reaching for his slippers. “And I was about to go to bed just now when I heard the door so I came to welcome you home.”  
“Oh. That’s so nice of-”  
“How is she?”  
“Wh-?” Kotetsu asked, and then immediately fixed it. “Oh- fine, fine. Kinda enthusiastic, though, so that’s why I’m so late…”  
“Eew! I didn’t want to know that!”  
“Wh- no, I don’t mean enthusiastic as in-! No! I mean- we haven’t- oh my god, Izumo, just go to bed…”

And Izumo just gave him a bright, innocent smile before turning on his heels and leaving for his room. Following behind, Kotetsu kept a sigh in his chest as he looked away, relieved to know that this was just a coincidence and Izumo was still definitely clueless.

°˖✧°˖✧

Some nights later, Kotetsu arrived home like usual from his escapades. As quietly as possible, he opened the door only enough to fit through it, turned around, and closed it like the minor sound of it clicking would make the apartment explode. He spent a good fifteen seconds just making sure to close it without a noise, and then stood there as he took his shoes off and put the keys in the bowl by the door. He sighed quietly, put his slippers on, turned around-  
-and he was grabbed from his jacket by the chest, violently dragged some steps, and pushed back almost against a wall.

And before he could even react or process what was happening, all he could see was Izumo’s face centimeters from his own, frowning like he was one notch away from bursting out, and glaring at him so hard, Kotetsu felt tiny and pathetic under his gaze.  
Okay, alright, so maybe Izumo wasn’t clueless after all…!

“You’re going to cut the crap today, Kotetsu!” Izumo growled at him, and even though it wasn’t a yell, it frightened Kotetsu even more than one. “You’re going to tell me _what_ you’ve been doing and you’re not going to lie to me, did you hear me!?”  
“I-Izumo, wait-” Kotetsu stuttered, hands holding to Izumo’s wrist as Izumo kept him gripped by the jacket. “I can explain-”  
“And god damn you _will!”_ Izumo exclaimed again, frowning even more at him. “You thought I wouldn’t notice? That I hadn’t noticed already?” 

Kotetsu gulped.  
“You had me in the first half, not gonna lie” even though Izumo hissed that at him with pure _anger,_ Kotetsu wasn’t sure if he was meme-ing on purpose or if it had just been an unfortunate coincidence. Whatever way, he was too frightened of his friend’s glare to even find it amusing. “But you bring up a date and I don’t know her _name?”_ a sarcastic snort. “Bullshit!”

Kotetsu gulped and just stared eye widened as his friend went on.  
“You start going out at nights frequently just as we’re having too much spare in our budget, and you thought I wouldn’t notice the connection!?” Izumo started listing as he shook Kotetsu from the grip on his clothes. “You’ve been wincing at random movements, you’ve walked funny a couple times, you’ve reacted different whenever the guys or I friendly-punch you, you come home late smelling of more deodorant than you smelled like before leaving, and you’ve been buying more and more things we normally couldn’t afford, so I have a couple theories, _none_ that I _like”_ Kotetsu could only look at him in fear as Izumo blurted everything out. “Either you’re… _selling_ your body somehow and people mistreat you, you’re being abused and rewarded for silence, or you’ve got some illness and your family’s been compensating with money to make you happier.”

Izumo pushed him back the last step so Kotetsu was properly pinned to the wall, staring at him with wide eyes whereas Izumo just kept glaring.  
“So unless this is some BDSM shit you’re experimenting with, it’s consensual, you’re enjoying it, _and_ you’re just too shy to admit it, I don’t like it, you’re going to leave it, and you’re going to tell me what it is” and in the firmest voice Kotetsu had ever heard in the full twenty years knowing each other, Izumo hissed, _”Now.”_

Kotetsu stayed pinned to the wall, mouth slightly open and eyes wide on Izumo, brain unable to respond. For a moment all that Kotetsu did was breathe, taken completely off guard. Fuck. Fuck, he should have seen it coming, Izumo was- fuck, he was too smart, had always been, at this point it felt absurd to have ever even tried, or thought that he had had the tiniest chance at tricking him. And now his dirty little secret was coming up and there was no escape. He couldn’t look into his friend’s eye and lie. And even if he dared, Izumo would just know it was a lie.  
Fuck, this man knew him too well, it was unfair.

“Okay…I’ll tell you…b-but I need you to calm down, okay?” Kotetsu murmured as if dealing with an angered lion. Izumo, very fittingly, snarled at him at first, but his grip on Kotetsu’s jacket softened until he let go. But he didn’t step back, keeping Kotetsu feeling trapped against the wall even though there was no physical restraint. Kotetsu tried to not make it obvious he felt intimidated but also didn’t want to look daring, so he tried to play it cool. He breathed out shakily and patted his jacket to flatten it, really just trying to buy time as he thought at the speed of light for something to say. “Uhm…”  
“I’m _waiting”_ Izumo hissed at him, crossing his arms and giving him a dead serious look. 

Kotetsu looked up at him for a moment more, just trying…not even to analyze him, just trying, hoping to not find anger. Like, at least not deep-rooted one, like…something that could be forgiven. Tried looking for any hint that said that Izumo was going to be calm about the truth.  
Kotetsu tried reassuring himself. Okay, he knew it sounded bad, but Izumo himself had given him an opening to make it seem not so bad. Street fighting was nowhere as bad as being abused or having some dangerous disease. Indeed, it was the opposite, because the reason Izumo was angry was because he thought that Kotetsu was dealing with something that was harming him and against his will, when indeed, it was the opposite, it was a choice and Kotetsu was always winner, so he would be, if not thrilled, at least calm and just dismiss it, right?

“Kotetsu!”  
“Okay, just…calm down” Kotetsu said as reassuring and calm as before. He tried clearing his throat and hummed hesitatingly for a moment. “I just…first of all, I just…I just want you to- I want…look, Izumo, and very seriously” and Kotetsu really meant it. He looked at Izumo with genuine shame. Whatever look he had to have upon his face, Kotetsu noticed the very obvious way Izumo’s frown instantly eased and his shoulders relaxed. “First of all, I just…want to say I’m sorry, Zum…” Kotetsu looked down. “I didn’t mean to lie to you or keep it hidden, you know I’d never done that…”

When Izumo spoke, it came out as the soothing, warm voice Kotetsu was used to.  
“…I mean, yeah, that was bad” Izumo murmured. “Not going to lie, I’m very hurt about that. Like, very…”  
“I know” Kotetsu said as his gut twisted a bit inside him. “And I’m really sorry. I was planning to tell you, I just…I was scared of how you’d react, so I kept it hidden for a bit, but then ‘a bit’ turned to months, and I’ve felt bad about it all this time, so just- just promise me, Izumo” Kotetsu gave him a timid look. “Promise you won’t be mad?”  
“…I mean, yeah, sure” Izumo said with a shake of the head and a shrug. “But just tell me already. I’m really worried about you” Izumo crossed his arms again and looked away. “You’re obviously hurt somehow and you don’t tell me how or _why,_ and the confusion just makes it worse” he looked at his friend again, this time with a soft look of worry instead of anger. “Kotetsu, what’s happening?”

Kotetsu stared at him quietly for a while, analyzing him. Okay, Izumo had softened. The angry lion had turned back to a little, noble, sad kitty that hugged himself like no one else had hugged him before. He was giving Kotetsu a look of genuine worry and softness, the kind that said that he didn’t care what was going on so long he could let him know he was okay. Okay. This would work. He just had to word it right.  
“So…it’s really just minor inconveniences, like, I’m not _hurt,_ I’m just, you know, sometimes it’s just a sore muscle or a tiny little bruise-” when he saw Izumo take in a little breath, he hurried to add, “-kinda like when you bump into a table or something, nothing serious. And yes, there’s a connection with the money…” Kotetsu nibbled a bit at his lower lip, stomach tickling. “I have…been…earning some extra at nights…”  
“Like…a job?” Izumo asked almost hopefully. 

Kotetsu put his index fingers up as if telling him ‘behold’ and then leaving him waiting. Izumo stared at him with big, curious, and attentive eyes.  
Kotetsu stared back; this was it. He was telling Izumo what he was doing…and this was his best friend that had joined him in everything in life. In kindergarten mischief, through elementary school adventures, into sneaky middle school pranks, all through the troubles and fun of high school, through the food poisoning, class skipping, paint balloon pranks, and dares through university and life, this was the guy that had joined him in mountain climbing and petting those actual, real wolves at the zoo, there was no way, no _way_ that Izumo was going to be upset at this.

He was going to like it. He was going to _love_ it. Kotetsu was great at fighting and they both knew it, and he liked it, and he was better than the non-trained people and even better than some trained. So he was not at risk, not the slightest, and he healed fast from the minor bruising. And it was so much money, and so easy, through an activity that didn’t compromise his life or health seriously. Izumo was going to be surprised but then join in. He was going to accompany Kotetsu to the warehouse. Be in the crowd cheering for him. Step in if he ever got in troubles. Walk out with him, laughing, waving half the bills in a hand. Go spend a bit of it at a nearby bar in celebration, maybe. Cheering him on, supporting him, who knows, maybe even complimenting and admiring him.

Maybe Izumo would also help him with the injuries. He could be Kotetsu’s nurse, like he always was whenever anything happened. He would talk happily with Kotetsu about the things they would buy while cleaning a scrapped arm…speak gently and be excited about the good fight Kotetsu had while pressing ice to a sore temple…maybe also look at him with bright, cute, excited eyes while talking about a trip to the beach or the mountains, a one weekend vacation, together, while gently, so very softly, and with all the care only Izumo’s tender hands could manage…hold one of his cheeks in a hand, and use the other to clean a slightly bleeding lip, nursing it back to health.

Fuck, that sounded so good. Oh my god, it was so good, it was too good, it was a dream, dear god, he needed to tell him! A new mischief for the inseparable Kote-Izu duo!

Kotetsu tried to hold back a smile but it kept growing on him as he stared at Izumo, who, in return, gave him a puzzled but curious look.  
“I’ve…been…” Kotetsu started, slow on purpose, smile growing with each second that passed even though he had tried to bite it back. Izumo’s eyes grew in expectation and curiosity. Kotetsu took in a proud breath, and, just as proudly and like he was sharing the latest gossip of town, he whispered, “Street fighting.”

And no response. Kotetsu bit down on his lip, smiling widely, and giving a pair of excited bright eyes at Izumo, waiting for his response.  
Izumo stood in front of him, arms still softly crossed and body relaxed. He had closed his mouth and gave Kotetsu a pair of wide, big eyes on a blank face, like he had been petrified in spot, not blinking, not reacting. Kotetsu nodded excitedly at him and gestured a bit, inviting him to reply. Izumo still stared with the same blank face than before, Kotetsu’s heart pounded excitedly in his chest, ready to squeal in excitement with Izumo like they were silly preteens with a crush again, waited for that gasp and yelp of excitement of adventure…

But Izumo let out a big, grey, bitter, and very sarcastic,  
_“Wow.”_

And he just…walked away. Steps firm and angered, Izumo stormed away of him and into the hallway that led to the bedrooms.  
Kotetsu’s smile completely gone in a blink, his heart skipped a beat and he stood paralyzed in his spot for a second as he processed everything going to shit in half a second. 

Responding by mere reflex, Kotetsu hurried after him.  
“Oi, Zum!” he called but Izumo literally babbled out loud while putting his hands up and not stopping as he reached his door. “Izumo! Are you mad?”  
“Oh, no, I’m not mad!” Izumo yelled back at him while turning around to face him, stopping in his way. “Indeed, I’m so _proud_ of you” Kotetsu blinked full of hope. “You just reached a whole new tier of _stupid_ , congratulations! I thought you couldn’t go any higher, but you outdid yourself!”

Said that, Izumo turned around again and kept heading to his room. Kotetsu felt a stab to his belly at the comment and he pulled back for a second. There was no need to be this rude, what the fuck was wrong with him?  
Seeing Izumo reach his door, Kotetsu rushed and grabbed him by the arm- and Izumo _shoved_ his hand away, turning around roughly and giving him an angered look.  
“You said you wouldn’t get angry!”  
“That’s because I thought you were hiding from me some sex story! A minor accident! An illness! Not fucking… _street fighting!”_ Izumo tried again to get into his room, but Kotetsu pulled him again. “Stop that!”  
“No!” Kotetsu yelled back. “Izumo, why are you so upset!? It’s not the big deal!”  
“Not the big de-” Izumo started, but he dropped it with a sarcastic groan. “Oh my _god,_ Kotetsu. Oh my _god!”_

Kotetsu felt another pinch and his anger grew.  
“I mean, you didn’t have to cheer on me, I just didn’t think you’d freak out like a fucking _nun”_ he complained. Izumo shook his head and sighed, refusing to make eye contact. “Come on, Izumo, it’s not so bad, you said so yourself-”  
“It’s not so bad!?” Izumo quoted back, snapping out at him. “I said so!? When the _fuck_ did I say so!?”  
“Back when we were talking about the stuff we’ve been collecting for the study, I told you one of them was street fighting and you said-”  
“Oh my god, it doesn’t- no- stop, it doesn’t matter, Kotetsu!” Izumo interrupted him, shaking his head. “Street fighting? Street fucking fighting, Kotetsu!” by answer, Kotetsu shrugged and shook his head, giving him a bitter questioning look. Izumo raised his eyebrows at him. “Street fighting!” he insisted, but Kotetsu just gave him an annoyed look. “Wow. _Wow,_ Kotetsu, you literally can’t hear how it sounds, you’ve lost your fucking common _sense.”_

“Oh, come on, Izumo, you’re not even giving me a chance to explain!” Kotetsu complained.  
“And I don’t want you to!” Izumo yelled back. “Street fighting is dangerous! And _illegal!_ You mean to tell me that what you’ve been lying about to me, for _months,_ is that you go out and meet up with strangers, whose intentions or background or status you don’t know, and you fucking- punch them and fight with them, for money!?”  
“There aren’t bad guys in there, Izumo, it’s well controlled and-”  
“Well controlled! It’s got an administration!” Izumo exclaimed and hid his eyes in his hands. “Like a fucking mini mafia!”  
“Izumo, you’re overreacting and exaggerating, it’s not like that!” Kotetsu complained again. “It’s just a bunch of guys that gather around to see a pair fight and they just throw bets in, that’s it!”  
“You’re fighting with strangers, Kotetsu!” Izumo pointed at him. “You’re hurt out of being beaten by strangers, you let strangers punch you for money, and you don’t see the problem here!?”  
“I’m not so hurt, I never am!” Kotetsu tried justifying it. “Just minor bruises, those guys don’t know how to fight and-”  
“Take your shirt off.”  
“Wha-”  
“Take your fucking shirt off, Kotetsu Hagane!”

Kotetsu stayed quiet and gave Izumo a frown and a pout. It wasn’t like Izumo to use his full name when chiding him. When he did, it was super serious. So even though Kotetsu wanted to tell him no, he knew this Izumo all too good to know he wasn’t going to let this pass. So, with a sigh, Kotetsu started taking his jacket off, then shirt coming off.  
Izumo eyed him shamelessly once he was shirtless. Kotetsu looked away with a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief.  
“Really, it looks worse than it is, it’s just a few punches that have never compromised my health” Kotetsu tried reasoning. He had plenty bruises across his torso; the belly, mostly, some on his chest, and a couple others on his arms. Some were darker than others, and some were too faint to be seen in the dark. “I haven’t even had my air punched out, Izumo. It’s all good.”

But Izumo just eyed him again. For a moment, Kotetsu swore his angry frown had softened and that his lower lip had quivered, his gaze showing off a glimpse of…hurt. But fast as if happened, Izumo’s glare returned.  
“Stop it.”  
“What?”  
“Stop it, Kotetsu!” Izumo snapped at him. “Stop this street fighting bullshit!”  
“But Izumo-!”  
“I’ll hate you forever if you don’t drop this, Kotetsu! Stop!”  
“Izumo, you’re being too dramatic!”  
“Maybe so!” Izumo admitted. “And even if I am, I still want you to stop it!”

Kotetsu stared at him with wide eyes and the mouth slightly open. Unbelievable. Not only did Izumo not join him, he was ordering him to leave it?  
“No” Kotetsu said calmly with a shrug and a shake of the head. Izumo raised his eyebrows at him, daring. Kotetsu frowned and clicked his tongue. “No” he stated more firmly. “Izumo, really, it’s not the big deal” as Izumo dropped his arms and sighed in exasperation, Kotetsu put a hand up and gave him a look telling him to not interrupt. Izumo didn’t, and stared as Kotetsu went on. “Look. It’s really not as bad as it sounds. It’s just a bunch of guys that gather to see some fights, and the fighters aren’t picked out against their will, it’s consensual. Both fighters agree. No one ever brings any weapons, not even white ones, and no one’s ever died in there, or needed an ambulance even” he gave Izumo a firm look, but kept his voice gentle, like trying to calm down a beast again. “It’s not the big deal. It just sounds like it, but I swear, it’s safe. Plus, I’m great at fighting, and you know that. If I’m hurt that’s because I take up on four or five guys, not-”  
“Four or five guys, you, alone!?”  
“Will you let me speak!?”

Izumo sighed in exasperation again as he shook his head and crossed his arms again.  
“I get that you’re upset because it sounds bad, but it’s not!” Kotetsu insisted.  
“How is it not bad!?” Izumo countered. “Kotetsu, you’re _street fighting!_ How can you not _hear_ it, it just takes common sense! Or have you been knocked so many times that you’re having a stroke? Is that why you’re not thinking like a normal person?”  
“Come on, Izumo-”  
“No, don’t come on me!” Izumo complained and took half a step back, giving Kotetsu an accusatory look. “Just drop it, Kotetsu! I shouldn’t need to tell you everything that’s wrong about it so you understand, stop it!”  
“But Izumo, I’m so good at it, it’s so easy, I don’t get seriously injured, and in good days I can make twice our wage, in one night!” Kotetsu tried reasoning. “One night, Izumo! And look all we’ve been able to buy, aren’t you happier with the little extra stuff we can afford now?”  
“Oh my god” Izumo mumbled and his arms fell to his sides again. “All you’ve gotten, it’s all…with money you earned from this?” Kotetsu gave him a look like it was obvious and nodded. Izumo stared at him a bit absent mindedly for a minute, and then shook the head, stuttered, and finally dropped his head, hiding his face in his hands. “Oh my _god,_ Kotetsu!”

And before Kotetsu could say more, Izumo turned around and stormed into his room.  
“Izumo-” Kotetsu called again, but Izumo closed the door in his face. Sighing angrily, Kotetsu knocked a bit too loud. “Izumo!”  
“You know what? It’s too late to argue, I don’t want to talk about this!” Izumo replied from inside his room. “I’ve got to wake up early for my normal people job tomorrow. You know, to earn money legally, not hurting myself or others, and you know, like a normal person!”  
“Izumo, come on!” Kotetsu called and kept knocking. “Izumo!”

But Izumo didn’t open his door. Kotetsu went to the bathroom to get the emergency key and tried unlocking his door, but Izumo had blocked the way somehow, maybe with his drawer. Kotetsu still tried calling a few times, but he ended up sighing and deciding that he wasn’t going to argue with someone that was behaving like an immature idiot. So he went to his own room, finished undressing and dressing for the night, and angrily tucked himself in bed.  
Jee, just _what_ was Izumo’s problem? Kotetsu was doing what he was doing specifically so the two of them could have more and better things and more fun, and he reacted this way? Not even trying to hear, just…freaking out like a maniac and being so unnecessarily rude.

Needless to say, it took a long while for Kotetsu to fall asleep, angry as he was. Not to say that this was the first time since he could recall, in his life, that they went to bed upset at each other.  
It would pass. Izumo was going to reason and realize he was just being a drama queen exaggerating.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Kotetsu tried to pretend nothing had happened, but he and Izumo didn’t speak a word through the morning routine. Kotetsu still served breakfast, they still ate, Izumo still had his tea, but they wouldn’t say a word like usual. Until, of course, the tension was so much that it snapped.  
“So we’re just going to pretend you’re not illegally street fighting for money, huh” Izumo called. Kotetsu sighed and rolled the eyes.  
“Izumo, seriously, stop it” Kotetsu tried to sound as calmly and collected as he could. “You don’t like it, I get it, but stop acting like I joined a mafia or like I’m killing people for fun.”  
“You _seriously_ don’t see the problem in it?” Izumo asked. “Wow, Kotetsu. _Wow.”_

Kotetsu sighed angrily and tried to keep composure as he took his empty dish to the sink. He decided he couldn’t face Izumo unless he wanted to strangle him, so he went for the bathroom instead to brush his teeth. When he came out and back to the main area, he saw a bunch of things on the couch. Recognizing some of them, he approached them and took a look.  
Izumo’s band shirt, the two videogames, the toy figure of one of his favorite characters, the phone case, a pen, and the black bandana…all the things that Kotetsu had gotten for him.

Seeing it all on a bunch didn’t take a genius to figure out, so Kotetsu, feeling his gut rise ablaze in anger, sighed exasperatedly, teeth clenching, and he turned to Izumo.  
“What’s all this stuff doing here?” he tried asking like he didn’t know. Izumo, still busy with his tea, gave him a disinterested cold look and looked away.  
“I’m throwing that out, or giving it away, I don’t know” Izumo shrugged carelessly. Kotetsu scowled and rolled his eyes, not helping a pinch and growing anger.  
“So I fought all those guys to get you all this to make you happy, for nothing” Kotetsu muttered. Much to his surprise, Izumo finally turned to look at him, but, instead of guilt, there was just anger.  
“I don’t want things that you bought with money that’s got blood on it!” Izumo yelled at him, shoving the newspaper in his hand away.  
“Izumo, you’re talking like I’m murdering people, stop exaggerating!” 

But Izumo didn’t give in. He shook the head with a sigh and took his turn in the bathroom. Kotetsu tried ignoring it but he couldn’t help get angrier as he looked at the bunch of things he had bought just specifically to make Izumo happy, and how it was backfiring. When Izumo came out of the bathroom, Kotetsu tried to not fight with him anymore, but he still spilled it out.  
“So what’re you going to do with the book collection, huh?” he asked with poison. “You’re throwing that away, too?”

Izumo stayed quiet. Kotetsu glanced at him. Izumo looked in clear doubt and struggle, pouting and forcing himself to look away to hide from Kotetsu but not too much that he would lose his pride.  
“Yeah” Izumo said. He crossed his arms and pouted even more at him. “Yeah, I’m throwing that out, too.”  
“Of course you’re not” Kotetsu gave him a bitter sarcastic look. “You care too much.”  
“Of course I do, but I care more about _you!”_ Izumo yelled at him, seemed to hesitate, stomped a foot, groaned out loud, and turned his back on him, grabbing his backpack and tossing it onto his shoulder. “Congratulations, Kotetsu, you ruined my favorite books now!”

Kotetsu felt another pinch of hurt. He tried to not comment, struggling between the thoughts; on a side, Izumo caring about him, and on the other, blaming him for ‘ruining his favorite books’. Not having an answer, Kotetsu grabbed his own backpack and went after him, leaving the apartment in odd silence.  
When they reached the parking lot and got to the bike, Kotetsu calmly undid the lock, put the chain in his backpack, took the bike, and approached Izumo. He pouted and gave him raised eyebrows like a question.

Izumo was staring at the bike with a _look._ It was like he was trying to question it with just the eyes. The longer he stared, the more he frowned, until his nose was shrugging up from the effort.  
“I’m not riding that” Izumo stated. Kotetsu’s shoulders dropped, his head fell back, and he sighed out loud in full exasperation. “Bye.”  
“Izu-” but Izumo was already walking away with steps firm like never in his life. Kotetsu hurried after him on the bike. “Izumo, stop being such a drama prince!” but Izumo didn’t reply or turned back. “Izumo, don’t do this to me!”

But Izumo just kept walking. At some point, Kotetsu got tired of following him and stopped, watching him go away. When Izumo walked into the bus stop, Kotetsu’s frown deepened, and he hopped onto the bike, very much decided to get to work before him just to be petty.  
And for the first time ever, Kotetsu went to work alone. At least because of something like this. There were times Izumo stayed behind on sickness break, or viceversa, but never…never had the two gone to work the same day and not share the journey together.  
And the worst part was that he wasn’t even hurt. He was just angry.

On the way there, he didn’t glance at any of the buses that he rode past or that passed him. He didn’t want to find Izumo on one of them, especially the ones that left him behind.  
It turned out that just as he was chaining the bike to its spot, Izumo appeared at the entrance. So Kotetsu, still being petty and wanting to convince himself it was Izumo being petty and not him, hurried and walked in just a second after him. He hoped Izumo was rotting in the realization that Kotetsu hadn’t been late. He didn’t know how that would make this any better but he still hoped for it.

They didn’t speak through the work day, for the first time in what felt like forever. There had been quiet days, the time Izumo was mourning his grandmother’s death and spent a quiet day at the lab, the time Kotetsu had this terrific cold that left him almost voiceless, even just days when neither had much to say, but even then, they still played hand football with a little piece of paper, enjoyed some music together, threw a joke each now and then. This was different. This had no _reason_ to be. They just…sat there in tense silence, angry and stressed and apparently in a competition to see who clicked their mouse the hardest.

Thankfully, they weren’t questioned, left alone as they normally were. When asked where Izumo was and why they weren’t having lunch together as usual, Kotetsu made up some vague excuse so people wouldn’t notice this stupid quarrel going on, because it really, really had no reason to be. Izumo was just being dramatic. There was no need to bring attention to this, everybody knew they were as inseparable as a person and their shadow, a head to a body, dirt to a fingernail (Izumo would always insist that that was a horrible, terrible comparison, can you not, Kotetsu), so how was he supposed to tell them that Izumo was angry at him without having to explain why, or without creating a gossip not just through the lab but the hospital as well? Hell, even the entire block would know, their usual fast food vendor and the lady from the store at the corner, it would be chaos. So he just lied about it. Not like he could have been able to tell where Izumo went to for lunch, though, he just…vanished. Left Kotetsu to eat alone, that…bastard.

Izumo didn’t even decline the offer for the ride back home, he just stormed straight to the bus stop as soon as they stepped outside. Once more, Kotetsu rode as fast as he could just to be petty and be home earlier. Izumo didn’t care the slightest when he got home to find Kotetsu already there, pretending he had been there for hours and trying to calm his breath from the effort. 

And without even acknowledging him, Izumo just…carried on with his day. Went to take his uniform off, changed into comfy things, put order to his paperwork, sat at his cozy spot to read. Kotetsu would stare bitterly and roll the eyes, and evilly plotted to wait for dinner so Izumo would have no option but talk to him again, Kotetsu being normally in charge of all the cooking. But he couldn’t help and be first to talk when Izumo came out of his room carrying his box of collector’s edition books and dropped it on top of the other stuff on the couch.  
“My _god,_ Izumo, will you cut the crap already?” Kotetsu snapped. “You’re behaving like an immature toddler!”  
“At least I’m a toddler and not a middle school _idiot_ that picks fights with strangers and thinks it’s cool!” Izumo snapped back.  
“I’m not saying it’s cool!” even though it was, kind of. “Izumo, why are you so upset? It’s easy money, and look at all the fun we’ve had!”  
“But we don’t _need_ the money, Kotetsu!” Izumo yelled back. “We’re fine on budget, we’re never tight, we have more than enough to have fun like normal people, this is just a greedy tantrum!”

Kotetsu growled out loud and shook the head, passing a hand through his hair, not knowing anymore how to shove sense into his best friend.  
“You were fine about the extra until last night” Kotetsu accused.  
“Yeah?” Izumo said sarcastically. “Because I didn’t know how you were earning that money. I do now, and I hate it. Leave it.”  
“No.”  
“Leave it!”  
“Izumo, you’re being irrational!” Kotetsu complained louder, going over to Izumo, who gasped and had started speaking back when Kotetsu threw a hand to cover his mouth; Izumo immediately started struggling back, trying to push him, but Kotetsu kept trying to keep his mouth covered, both voices overlapping, until Izumo pushed his hands away for good.

“Stop it, Kotetsu, you’re like a child!” he roared, stomped a foot, and had started walking away when Kotetsu grabbed him by the arm. “Can you stop touching me!?”  
“Izumo, I just want to talk, but you won’t let me!”  
“Because _you’re_ not being rational, it’s like talking to a brick wall, your common sense is gone and-”  
“Don’t throw that at me when it’s you being so goddamn stubborn-”  
“-doesn’t matter what I tell you, it’s like you literally can’t hear-”  
“-just because it sounds bad, like, you’re not even giving it the tiniest thought-”  
“-if I told you two plus two is five you’d just be like yeah, so why do I even _try-”_  
“-like I’m doing genocide or torture for fun, what the _fuck-”_  
“-I just don’t- no- stop it, no! I don’t care, Kotetsu!!”

Said that, Izumo turned around and left for his room just like the previous night. Kotetsu didn’t even bother knocking, he just growled in anger and pulled his hair, deciding that it was senseless and left for the living room.  
Izumo didn’t come out for dinner, despite his usual hour passing by. He didn’t even come out to snatch a snack to make up for it. 

To be honest, it was the idea of Izumo being hungry what first pinched Kotetsu in guilt while he cooked for himself. He could only eat a few bites before it felt wrong enough that it lost its flavor and he lost his appetite.  
He still wandered around for a bit in case Izumo came out, but he didn’t. Hours passed, ten turned to eleven, it turned to almost midnight, and Kotetsu decided to just head to bed. As he got ready to sleep, he tried to be angry, but all that he felt was a blue pool in his heart.  
It wasn’t right. This was a disaster. Maybe he was being a bit too aggressive, grabbing Izumo and being too physical and just angering him more. And the idea of him skipping dinner, hungry…

Once, when they were eight, Izumo had run away from home because dad wouldn’t stop yelling at mom and in turn mom wouldn’t stop yelling at Izumo, and then dad would join in yelling at him because dinner wasn’t served, because mom was too busy yelling at him because dad was yelling at her. So Izumo had appeared at the Hagane’s door the next day, hungry, upset, and crying because he wanted his parents to stop yelling at each other and at him, but he couldn’t make dinner nor breakfast to make them happy because he didn’t know how a stove worked, but he was too scared to ask mom, and he wanted to stop being called a useless nuisance and a burden, but he was too hungry to think of how to fix it all because he had gone to bed upset and hungry, and he just wanted a fried egg.  
So that day, while Kotetsu’s mom made a double breakfast for him and Kotetsu kept his little friend hugged like letting go would make him dissolve in thin air, and while Izumo still bawled, eight year old Kotetsu made a promise: Izumo would and should never go to bed hungry or upset ever again.  
And he was currently both.

Kotetsu tried to let it pass. He knew he was right, and being first to say something felt like surrendering. But the image of tiny kid Izumo crying kept coming back every time he closed the eyes, every time he so much as blinked, and it kept pinching him with guilt because it was a promise. To himself, yes, but a promise. Besides, the problem involved him, too. The problem involved only him. And that made it worse.

Standing up from bed, Kotetsu left his room and knocked on Izumo’s door.  
“Zum” he called softly and waited for a reply. He heard nothing. He knocked again, and sighed, deciding that honesty was all that his friend needed. “Izumo, I don’t want to go to bed while we’re on bad terms. And I mean not today and not any other day” he waited, but got no response besides a few noises of bedsheets rustling. “Izumo, I don’t want neither of us to go to bed angry at each other. Please.”

It took a moment. For a while, Kotetsu thought he would get no response, but, after some waiting, Izumo was quietly opening his door. He didn’t come out, though. He stayed in his room, but let the door be fully open, and he stood there, arms crossing and expression between trying to be angry and trying to not be sad. Kotetsu looked at him and sighed, trying to calm down and be as rational as possible.  
“Look, I’m sorry that I lied about it, and I’m sorry that it’s something you’re not comfortable with” Kotetsu started. “I just think you’re being a little unfair on me. You keep yelling at me and being so…unyielding about how you view it.”  
“And I’m not going to change it” Izumo replied, surprisingly calm, but serious and firm. He gave Kotetsu a stare just as serious for a minute before going on. “I’m not going to give this the tiniest chance, not even a thought. It’s out of the question. I don’t want you to keep this underground fighting stupidity up, not in the slightest. I’m serious, Kotetsu: leave it.”

Kotetsu sighed and looked away, chewing on his lower lip for a moment to try and think how to move this stubbornness.  
“Look” Kotetsu started. “If I was boxing or in a martial arts club, you wouldn’t be against it, would you? And that would actually be worse, because that would imply that the people I fight are trained, too, so if I was in a boxing or martial arts club, you wouldn’t have the tiniest problem about it, would actually support it, and I wouldn’t get money, and I’d just be beaten for real and worse than what I’m doing now” Kotetsu waited a moment to let that information sink in. “So how is this different or worse? These people don’t fight professionally, it’s so easy to take them down, and I get money for something that’s not dangerous.”  
“It’s not the same, Kotetsu” Izumo argued back, remaining calm but as unmovable as before. “At least in a club there would be _rules._ And someone making sure no one is seriously harmed. Do you think the people at whatever place you go to care? That they would do something, get in the way if someone was in real danger?” he snorted sarcastically. “Of course not. These people don’t care, they wouldn’t care if something serious happened to you.”

“But nothing’s happened to me, Izumo-”  
“Not yet!” Izumo raised his voice. Then, he closed the eyes, waited, and sighed as his shoulders relaxed and he brought a hand up to his temple. “Not yet, Kotetsu. And I don’t want…I don’t want to sit in the living room one night knowing you’re fighting for real with who knows who, and not knowing if you’re coming home or not.”  
“Izumo, really, I know…I appreciate the worry and I know that you care-”  
“So why don’t you stop?”

Kotetsu stayed quiet at the snapped question. He looked at Izumo without replying. Izumo was giving him an explicitly hurt look at this point, if still trying to look angry. Somehow, that hesitant question was worse than his yelling. Izumo calling him stupid wasn’t as bad as hearing him this…betrayed.  
“Why don’t you stop if you know I worry?” Izumo insisted, angrier, but keeping the voice down. Kotetsu took a long while at trying to reply, keeping quiet and looking away.  
“Buddy, it’s just…I think maybe you’re worrying too much unnecessarily” Kotetsu tried to reason again. “Look, it’s safe, it’s just a bunch of guys that-”  
“You already explained how it works” Izumo cut him. “And I still don’t like it.”  
“Izumo…”  
“Kotetsu, I said it before and I say it again, I shouldn’t need to tell you all of what’s wrong in this so you see it!” he whispered-shouted. “It’s illegal, it’s dangerous, and it’s unethical, and to top it off, it’s just…unnecessary and out of a tantrum for an extra we don’t need!”  
“I know, Izumo, but it’s not so bad!” Kotetsu insisted. “You know how just because something’s illegal doesn’t really mean it’s wrong? Like, interracial marriage was once illegal, and slavery was once legal.”

Izumo clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.  
“Local boy compares street fighting to slavery, actually thinks it’s a good argument” he said in a punch of sarcasm. Even though Kotetsu had been first to want this to be a calm conversation, he couldn’t help but feel a pinch of anger.  
“Will you stop being so derogatory?”  
“Will you stop being so fucking stupid?”  
“Izumo, you’re just being unnecessarily rude!”  
“Says the guy that’s punching other people for fucking money!”  
“You just have problems with this because you’re so uptight about following rules, when there’s people committing murder, kidnapping, assault and robbery out there, and I’m a bad guy for fighting a guy that agreed to fight me and taking money people offered me willingly?” Kotetsu complained. “You just hate this because it’s illegal!”  
“This being illegal is the last of my problems, Kotetsu!”

Kotetsu refrained at that. He was so sure that it was only the tag of ‘illegal’ what sent Izumo in this drama outrage for the past day. He blinked confusedly at him, watching as Izumo glared at him but unable to do something about the glimpse of hurt in his gaze.  
“Kotetsu” Izumo called as if to try to make his friend put his feet back on earth before speaking. “You’re just unnecessarily endangering yourself. You don’t know when one of those guys will be on some drug or drunk to not care about whatever control there is in there. You don’t know when one of them will throw a bet with the condition of killing each other, or if the guy you just beat is in bad steps and you’ll be targeted later by some dangerous person for humiliating them. You don’t know when one of them will pull out a weapon and hurt you for real, or worse” Izumo stated, and just as Kotetsu was taking air in, he hurried to add, “And before you tell me that it’s not so dangerous because you’re trained and they are not, that’s a problem, too!” 

Izumo gave Kotetsu a look that was almost…almost pleading.  
“Kotetsu” Izumo called in a whisper. “You’re _hurting people”_ he kept quiet for a bit, staring into Kotetsu’s eyes one by one as if waiting to see if something clicked in him. “So far you’ve beaten people seeing them as strangers, like…like NPCs from a game, but they’re _not_ NPCs. They’re actual _people,_ Kotetsu. You’re hurting actual _people”_ Izumo insisted and paused again to try to give it enough emphasis. “I worry about you, but I also worry about you hurting _them._ Because so far across these months, I’ve gotten to see you come home every night, but we don’t know, Kotetsu, we don’t know if there’s an Izumo out there waiting for his best friend of all life and partner of everything to come home, but will end up having to pick him up at a hospital, or _worse.”_

Kotetsu softened for a moment when he swore Izumo’s eyes had gleamed in tears, but Izumo looked away with a frustrated breath and just frowned.  
“This is so fucked up, Kotetsu” he stated. “It’s wrong however you see it. I don’t want you to be hurt but I also don’t want you to hurt others. Especially not for…for money. That’s not what you’re like, that’ s not…you. That’s not you, Ko, that’s…not you…”

At first, Kotetsu didn’t reply and he stood there feeling stupid and awkward. It was true that he hadn’t thought about those guys like actual people, or thought about however they got home. Then again, he imagined most of them didn’t really have someone waiting for them. And so far he knew, none of them had ever ended up in hospital. And Izumo had said so himself, those people didn’t care. They were mostly just outlaws, rascals and troublemakers that didn’t give shit about others. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about hurting others, it was just that they had no troubles with agreeing to fight him and he never crossed any line that would put anyone at serious risk, so it was no problem.

Kotetsu tried to embed all of that in a question. The problem was that he worded it in the worst way possible.  
“But what do you care about those guys, Izumo? We don’t know them” Kotetsu shrugged. “What should we care?”

The way Izumo stared at him after that was…new. His shoulders dropped, and his frown softened. Instead, he looked at Kotetsu with a soft look that took a while for Kotetsu to decipher. Izumo’s lips were slightly parted and he stared softly at Kotetsu to the eyes. But it wasn’t his usual softness, this was…  
By the time Kotetsu saw the hurt and disappointment in his eyes, it was too late. 

Izumo lifted his eyebrows quickly and looked away, shaking the head and letting out a tiny ‘wow’ that felt worse than the others. Whenever he had said that, Kotetsu had been angry at the sarcasm. But, this time, more than sarcasm, that tiny breathed out ‘wow’ sounded so…disappointed. So, so disappointed. And it was worse than sarcasm.  
“You know why I’ve stuck with you for most of my life, Kotetsu?” Izumo murmured, still looking elsewhere. Kotetsu felt his stomach twist and his heart drop. “Even as to live with you after university?” he paused. “It’s not just because you make me laugh. It’s because I respect you for the good person you are. Kind, fair, empathic and ethical…”

Kotetsu stared with some fear as Izumo bit his lower lip and nodded, looking elsewhere with an upset, betrayed, and disappointed look in his eyes that didn’t even dare to look at him.  
“But I guess I was wrong, eh?” Izumo asked lowly. “What should we care about…actively hurting people? It’s not us and we don’t know them. So what should we care? And we get money for it. What should we care about beating people up, about other people’s wellbeing, when we have…fucking videogames and bikes, huh?”

Izumo chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment, before he just sighed, dropped his arms, and took the knob of his door. He finally looked at Kotetsu, but that was just to give him a crooked, angry smile.  
“It’s no secret that priests and nuns praise Gold over god, too.”

And with that, he calmly closed the door of his room on Kotetsu’s nose, and locked it. 

Kotetsu stood in the hallway, frustrated and still angry at what he felt was just Izumo being dramatic, but too shocked to feel it. Too shaken from…from that look and that tone Izumo gave him. Because it was all so profoundly, so horribly _disappointed._ Kotetsu could have taken it all, but this? Not only was it horrible, it was new, and new was unknown and unknown was terrifying and threatening. Izumo had been angry at him, had been sad for and sometimes even because of him, exasperated and frustrated and mad because of him…but disappointed? And, boy, had Izumo seen him at his worst. He had been there when Kotetsu constantly got into fights with bullies at high school and in the neighborhood because they kept teasing him about his missing dad and his money situation, he had been there to pull Kotetsu out of a fight when he kept punching the guy even when he was already knocked out. And not even then had he looked at him with disappointment.

Maybe it was because back then, Izumo knew he was just trying to vent out his hurt somehow and he was young and stupid, and that the guys were actually being mean. So while it had been bad and not excusable, it was somehow understandable, whereas this was really but a tantrum of greed. 

…or maybe Izumo was just being a little hypocrite shit.  
How could he support him through his fights at high school and suddenly act like a saint and be disappointed in him now? It wasn’t any different. Indeed, this was less bad because it was consensual and he was well aware of what he was doing, he was choosing it, and he wasn’t beating with irrational, blind anger aiming to actively hurt. He was fighting just aiming at throwing down and do as less harm as possible, he really was just aiming for some money. Other guys getting hurt was a collateral consequence. He wasn’t a brutal savage that wanted to make bullies bleed their brains out anymore. How dare Izumo give him this look now, how dare he think he had any _right_ to act like a saint now and not have said anything back then?

Pscht. What a hypocrite attitude Izumo was having. Hypocrite and overdramatic. Really he was just being the same stubborn ass of always that just wanted to be right, and was just talking down on Kotetsu to prove a point. Tried guilt-tipping him just to play the victim and the saint.  
Izumo was disappointed in him for “not having ethic sense”, even though what Kotetsu was doing was very much consensual from both the strangers and his part? Yeah, well, Kotetsu was disappointed in him for being such a drama queen that only considered things bad when it allowed him to play the victim and the voice of reason. Stepping down on Kotetsu to try and make himself look superior, blow out the light of Kotetsu’s candle to then show his friends how his own was brighter. 

Kotetsu scowled and turned back to his own room again, closing the door a bit too loud, and tucking himself in bed, despite the obvious lack of sleepiness, head and tummy busy at being angry at the guy sleeping across the hallway.  
Indeed, Izumo had said so himself, Kotetsu had brought up street fighting before and Izumo said ‘It’s not so bad’. And he said it with a tone, he was so dismissive about it. And now he dared act like this? He was definitely just being picky, he didn’t care what was wrong, he just cared about tagging something of ‘Wrong’ when it gave him something in return, in this case, just a drama chapter to add something to his boring, grey life, to try to take on the role of the wise one and the smart like he always did, when there was no need to.

Indeed, Izumo was just being condescending treating Kotetsu like an idiot, not just by yelling at him that he had no common sense, but with how he was handling the whole situation. He didn’t care if this was wrong, he just wanted to act like it was to make himself look brighter and smarter like always. He always did this. He always sabotaged Kotetsu to make him look dumb, just so _he_ could look like ‘the smart one’, like they couldn’t both be smart. Kotetsu was his age. Indeed, he was older for four months, and he had lived through more. So what if Izumo had shitty parents? At least he had parents. Kotetsu only had his mom. And Izumo always had a gaming console and expensive sugary cereals, Kotetsu had to be happy with a shitty TV and whatever budget could get for food. 

Izumo that tiny shit, what did he _know._ He was…a child of privilege, how dare he talk down on Kotetsu accusing him of throwing a ‘greedy tantrum of privilege’. Indeed, it was probably just that what made Izumo freak out like a goddamn nun; he was a spoiled kid that watched life through the window of a car. Kotetsu was the kid fighting in an alleyway not out of joy but out of survival.  
Muttering angrily, Kotetsu closed the eyes and pretended to sleep, not helping the anger because Izumo was stubborn, he was being mean, he was being condescending and hypocrite and a bad friend, and because he had let that stupid moron go to bed hungry and upset.


	6. Chapter 6

Even though they were still angry at each other in the morning and it was beyond obvious, Kotetsu still cooked two dishes like usual and served Izumo his stuff. Izumo didn’t even acknowledge him, but his pout softened. Kotetsu pretended to not notice and he sat down to eat in silence.

Izumo did nothing to help with the tense, awkward atmosphere. He grabbed the little local newspaper and flicked through it in disinterest, eating slowly. Kotetsu contained a sigh and guessed that perhaps time would do something to fix this, and all he could do right now was just…eat his stupid breakfast and say nothing. 

He noticed that Izumo was getting distracted with his phone each now and then. He texted something, left it, it buzzed, he checked, and took up on texting more, and repeated. Normally, this wouldn’t bother Kotetsu in the slightest. Izumo had his life and while it was true that they normally spoke while eating, it wasn’t rare that either of them got distracted in their phone. The difference now was that Izumo was hot-headed with all this street fighting issue, and he was _very_ upset at Kotetsu. He had to have a lot in his head, and, angry at him as he was, there was no way he was telling Kotetsu any of what was bothering him.  
So he was telling someone else, huh? He had just gone and thrown Kotetsu under the bus, complained _about_ him to someone else. Complaining and making him look bad to others. 

Whatever. Let him do it. Kotetsu knew his reality, Izumo could exaggerate it as much as he wanted, their friends could believe it, even, but Kotetsu knew how it really was. So fuck what they thought.  
Who was it? Iruka would be the first in mind, but Iruka would have probably already personally gone to their apartment just to make a scene out of this. No. Genma, maybe. Raidou. Raidou was a good confidant, the bastard judged nothing and kept secrets. Maybe Aoba, so discreet and normally under the radar even amongst them.  
Pscht. Whatever. Kotetsu wasn’t going to stress over this.

…unless it was Kotetsu's mom?  
Shit. Fuck.  
Had Izumo told his mom?  
Fuck. _Fuck._

Kotetsu couldn’t help but nervously eye Izumo while the other wasn’t looking. Not difficult as Izumo didn’t seem to want to see him even from the corner of his eye.  
Shit. His mom loved Izumo. Indeed, he loved him so much, she would side with him. Fuck, this was unfair, it wasn’t fair that just because Izumo had charmed her so much just by existing as a kid and for the rest of their lives she would side with him in this.  
It wasn’t right. Not just the siding with him, it was…he didn’t- he didn’t want his mom to stress or panic about this, because it really wasn’t the big deal. He couldn’t help another pinch of anger; had Izumo been dramatic enough to trigger his mom in unnecessary panic, like, a middle-aged woman that had had enough heartache in her life, just for the sake of a drama? 

Kotetsu tried to not say a thing, but the more he saw Izumo texting, the more the idea poked him so he had to throw the question out.  
“You haven’t told my mom, have you?”  
Whatever response he was expecting, the condescending sarcastic smirk and huff sent his nerves into shocks of anger.  
“You need your _mom_ to nag you so you understand this is bad?” Izumo asked without even lifting his eyes from his phone. “But _I_ am the toddler.”  
“Izumo” it came out more as a warning than a plead.  
“Calm down, Kotetsu. I’m not giving your mom a heart attack for _your_ stupidity” Izumo muttered as he grabbed his mug still without looking. “She doesn’t deserve that stress.”  
“Oh, so you’re guilt-tripping me using my _mom_ just for the sake of your drama.”  
“I don’t know which part of that sentence makes me angriest, Kotetsu Hagane, so I will pretend with every fiber of my self control that you didn’t just say that.”

Kotetsu huffed and rolled his eyes. Fantastic. Now he had to spend a whole ass weekend with Izumo behaving like this. And there was nothing he could do about it; if he hung out with any of the other guys, they would question why Izumo wasn’t around. It was his own fault, he guessed, for sticking with Izumo for twenty years inseparable like a goddamn shadow. Now people couldn’t see one without the other without thinking the other fucking died. So Kotetsu would just have to hang alone and see how long they both could keep this stupid fight a secret.  
“You know who I’m telling, though?” Izumo called a bit too loud out of nowhere, like the idea struck him light lighting suddenly, as he grabbed his phone again after having put it down just a second. “I’m telling Iruka!”

Kotetsu tried complaining so fast he choked with his own saliva.  
“N- Izumo!” he yelled as he basically threw himself across the little table, trying to take Izumo’s phone, but his friend moved away as he pressed the keys. “Izumo!” and even though Izumo struggled back, Kotetsu managed to knock the phone off his hand just as he had pressed the ‘Call’ button. Both threw themselves at the phone, knocking it around. Just as Iruka was picking up, Kotetsu managed to hang up, but the two kept struggling for the phone, pushing each other’s face and arms and arguing until Kotetsu grabbed the phone and stood up and back. Izumo, on the floor, pulled onto his hands and _glared_ at Kotetsu like a damn feral beast ready to jump on him. Kotetsu put the phone higher in the air as if threatening to throw it down. 

“You dare smack my phone off my hand like that” Izumo growled. “And you dare fight me like that…!” and after a furious look that made Kotetsu feel small and ready to flee, Izumo stomped his hands on the floor, growled out loud, and stood up. “You know what, Kotetsu!?” he said as he tried cleaning his hands on his shirt. “I’ve lost all respect I had for you! You say you’re not acting like a child but you dare act like this!? Fight on the floor for a fucking phone!?”  
“You started it!”  
“Give me my phone, now!”  
“You’re not telling Iruka!”  
“I’d tell him anyway when I saw him, Kotetsu, grow up!” Izumo yelled back as he approached Kotetsu, but, instead of struggling with him, he just stretched a hand to him, with an authoritarian and angry look. “My phone!”

Kotetsu wanted to insist that he wouldn’t call Iruka, give the phone only under that condition, but he felt that saying that would only make Izumo insist on calling him a child. So Kotetsu just stood there petrified, body not sure if it was a fight or flee situation and staying on standby. Kotetsu still wanted to insist, but there was no way around this. Izumo was, like usual, that stupid bossy brat stubborn to the last hair of his butt. So, frustrated, angrier and impotent, Kotetsu just scowled and handed the phone back moodily, enough to hear Izumo grumble as he snatched the phone off his hand. Kotetsu watched him put it back in a pocket and walk away back into the kitchen, while he stayed near the hallway to their rooms, crossing the arms and looking away in bitter defeat.

It took about a minute when Izumo was speaking.  
“Hey, Iruka, can you guess what new tier of stupid Kotetsu just reached? It’s unbelievably high, you won’t ever guess” Izumo said a bit too loudly, not even trying to conceal his anger, talking more to Kotetsu than to his phone. Kotetsu’s heart skipped a beat and he glared at his friend from the distance. Izumo just gave him a proud angry look back. “He’s fucking underground fighting for money!” a pause while Kotetsu’s heart dropped and sped up. “Yes, I’m serious! Yes, Iruka, don’t ask again because I’m _serious,_ this is far from being a prank and god have mercy on you if you keep questioning me because all heavens know I’ve been trying _so hard_ with far more self control than I have to keep it cool, so if you dare question me again I‘m going to fucking _explode.”_

Kotetsu couldn’t help but give Izumo a terrified look. Jesus Christ, Iruka was _terrifying_ as he was, and Izumo dared talk to the man himself like _that?_ Izumo had lost all value of life, he had no fear of an eternity of hellfire and was even insulting it.  
Fuck. Fuck, he was angrier than Kotetsu already knew he was.  
“Yes, and god have mercy on me having to deal with this stupid _idiot_ that got involved in this for real” Izumo continued. “Street fighting for money. Yes. Yes, that’s what I told him! Can you guess what he said? ‘It’s not the big deal’. It’s not the fucking big deal, Iruka!” a longer pause. “I’ve been doing that for two days, he’s not listening and all he’s done is yell at me and-”  
“Oh come on, like it’s not you who starts the fights-!”  
“-not reasoning, there’s no brain there, he’s reached a god tier of stupid!” 

Kotetsu had a lot of things to say about that, angrier with each word Izumo said, but before he could say anything, Izumo put the phone away of his ear and turned speakers on.  
“Kotetsu?” Iruka’s voice called from the other side of the phone. “Care to explain?”  
“Just go straight to tell him he’s being a fucking _idiot-”_  
“Okay, Izumo, you shut up” hell yeah you shut up. “Kotetsu, you do know, however, that you _are_ being an idiot?”

Kotetsu sighed in frustration, rolled the eyes and passed a hand through his hair, needing all his self control to not tear it away in his fists.  
“Kotetsu?”  
“Oh he’s listening, we can hear you just fine, he’s ignoring you on purpose” Izumo kept poking into Kotetsu’s anger.  
“Kotetsu, I don’t think I need to tell you everything that’s wrong with street fighting so you see it” Iruka was saying in a tone that made it sound like he was calm but very, very confused. “But I’m more surprise that Izumo’s already told you and you still insist? I’m…that confuses me more than the actual problem.”

Izumo didn’t give any of his sassy comments anymore, but he did give Kotetsu a look. A smart, angry look of superiority, like expecting Kotetsu to realize how much of an inferior idiot he was. Which, honestly, only made Kotetsu angrier, and in consequence, more stubborn.  
“You know why I’m not listening to him, Ru?” Kotetsu said as he got closer. Izumo, as sassy as ever, just shamelessly handed him the phone, no trace of embarrassment or regret from all this drama. Kotetsu snatched it from his hand and brought it closer to himself. “Because mister privilege over here has been but a condescending asshole to me all this time-”  
“Mister fucking wh-”  
“He hasn’t even let me speak, have you been listening to him just during this conversation? Have you?”  
“Oh my _god,_ Hagane Kotets-”  
“He’s not letting me speak and explain, and all he’s done is call me an idiot, dismiss everything I tell him, twist my words, and act like he’s on a superior plane of intelligence than me and that I’ve got less brains than a donkey” he gave Izumo a bitter look. “Really, it’s not as bad as he’s making it sound, he just wants to play victim here.”

Izumo laughed out loud with so much sarcasm, Kotetsu couldn’t help but grip the phone so hard, he heard a little crack.  
“Play victim!” Izumo exclaimed and continued the sarcastic laugh, shaking the head and making a dismissive hand gesture at him, and then he just walked away to the living room.  
“Okay, Kotetsu, just…calm down and explain it to me, okay?” Iruka asked from him. Kotetsu had to chew on the inside of his cheek for a while, breathing and counting mentally until he managed to calm down enough to at least not drop the phone and go straight to strangle his friend. 

And so, once calm, he turned speakers off to have a bit more privacy, and he tried explaining, trying to make it sound as good as possible to Iruka, safe and legal even if not really legal, not dangerous, easy, everything. By the time he had finished, he felt he had sounded so polite and reasoning that he felt confident in a good answer; he didn’t really expect Iruka to cheer on him or say he was right, but he was confident in him not finding it wrong, either, staying in like…common ground, where he understood that while it wasn’t like Kotetsu was making money by discovering the cure of all illnesses, at least it wasn’t like he was murdering people or something.  
Which made the answer all the more so disappointing.  
“I see. I understand” a sigh. “Listen, Ko, I support you in the wish to have extra money to make yourself and the people you love happier, we all love gifts and being able to spend money in something. I just think Izumo’s right; it’s wrong wherever you look at it. And I really, really think you should drop it.”

Kotetsu sighed in frustration and glanced at Izumo to make sure he wasn’t gloating in pride and sass. Izumo was just pretending to be busy ordering the bookshelf.  
“How is this different than a boxing or martial arts club?” Kotetsu tried the same argument. When he said that, he saw and heard Izumo giggle sarcastically to himself, which made Kotetsu’s anger rise as he glared over at the brown haired while Iruka replied.  
“Uh, very?” Iruka said. “Those have rules. A supervisor. What you’re doing is absolutely beyond any legal frame, and I’m not saying this only as in it’s bad that you’re doing it, I mean it also as in there’s nothing that legally protects you if someone hurts you for real, which you should know is _very_ likely to happen the longer you do this.”

Kotetsu sighed again and tried reasoning with Iruka. No matter what he said, though, and after half an hour at the phone with him, he didn’t manage to convince him. Iruka kept insisting on how bad an idea it was, how there were other ways to make people happy, how Kotetsu was for real being an idiot this time. The conversation reached a point that made Kotetsu shake the head and reply shortly and lowly, defeated, and accepting there was no way he was winning this argument. Eventually, Iruka caught up he was neither talking sense into him nor being heard.

There was an odd silence for a moment.  
“If none of that convinces you” Iruka said strangely softly when it seemed to be over. “Then think about Izumo.”

Kotetsu felt a weird…something in his tummy. And a little pinch in the heart. It tasted oddly like guilt and he hated it, yet, hw couldn’t help a subtle glance at Izumo. His friend was in his cozy spot, arms crossed and just staring out the window.  
“He cares about you, Ko, in a way that’s only his. Like you care for him” Iruka continued. “Imagine if the roles were inversed. Would you be calm at night if you knew Izumo was out who knows where, in a dangerous zone of an already dangerous neighborhood, among strangers whose lives revolve around pick-pocketing and doing drugs, fighting them in an illegal underground place?” 

Kotetsu frowned but he couldn’t help the pinch of guilt again.  
“You know, I’d support that” he said, trying to avoid the word ‘him’ so Izumo wouldn’t eavesdrop more than he already was. “Because I’d know it’s a skilled and strong guy that could defeat any stupid ass out there that dared try to hurt him.”  
“The question wasn’t if you’d support him, Kotetsu” Iruka replied. “The question was, would you be calm at night if you knew he’s doing that?”

Kotetsu didn’t reply. He frowned and tried pushing out an answer, but found himself unable to. Once more, he looked over at Izumo, and the sight made that stupid, dumb pinch come back.  
“You’re his best friend in a way that’s beyond understanding of anyone but you two” Iruka said. “We can’t do anything about it if you don’t care about yourself. But someone else does. And he really does, he cares for you even more than he cares for himself. And I think your wellbeing makes Izumo happier than any gift or any quantity of money, Ko. Just…think about that.”

Kotetsu stood there, awkward and quiet and defeated, and all he could do was mutter out a ‘yeah’ before both hung up. With a sigh, he put Izumo’s phone down and looked away.

God, what was he doing? This was stupid. This didn’t have to turn out like this, he never meant for it to turn out like this. And it really was not a big deal now, this was just…ridiculous. Being angry at Izumo was like chopping off one of his arms and a leg, it was…absurd. The world could be ending and nothing would be big enough to get between himself and Izumo, so why was something as stupid and miserable as this getting in between them so easily?  
Fuck, no. He cared about Izumo. Enough to talk this through and…give in if he had to…  
He appreciated him more than anything. Whether he was wrong or right, it didn’t…matter that much, he just didn’t want to be on bad terms with him anymore.

So, despite the frustration and the anger, Kotetsu approached him.  
“Can we talk?” Kotetsu asked as calm as he could. Izumo refused to look at him at first, keeping his eyes on the window, but some moments later he turned and gave him a questioning look. Izumo didn’t look away so Kotetsu took it as a yes, so he sat down on an arm of the couch. “Izumo, this is ridiculous” he stated simply. “Why are we fighting so bad and so much over something so stupid?”  
“That’s what I don’t get” Izumo replied lowly but clearly still frustrated. “How could you make underground fighting more important than me?”  
“I didn’t make it more important than- no- what?” Kotetsu shook the head. “I’d never done that.”  
“You did seem quite stubborn about-”  
“Izumo, you’re doing it again, you’re not letting me speak.”

Izumo sighed and looked away. Kotetsu waited some moments until he made sure his friend wasn’t speaking.  
“Look, I just don’t want to be on bad terms anymore” Kotetsu said. “Can we just…leave this behind?”  
"...I mean, if you stop it, then yeah" Izumo shrugged. “Otherwise I’ll just keep this up.”  
“…I know you’re trying to say that as a way to say that you care, but the way you worded it makes it sound kind of like blackmail, you know?”  
“Wh-?” Izumo’s eyes widened a bit and he took a moment processing it. “Excuse me?”

Kotetsu shrugged and looked away.  
“Yeah” he said. “You’ll only be on good terms with me if _I_ do as you say. Otherwise you’ll just ‘keep this up’. Kind of blackmail.”  
Izumo kept staring for a good while, unable to do but blink and give him that shocked look, until he finally started smiling, mouth open, and he chuckled sarcastically.  
“Blackmail?” Izumo questioned. “So you still think you’re right?”  
“I don’t really care who’s right at this point, but you’ve been quite mean and wrong in a lot of things, you just haven’t ever let me speak or explain or just tell you what I think” Kotetsu said and, while he tried to keep it cool, both had already risen their voices and the air went back to being tense. “You’ve just been calling me an idiot without a rest, closing your door in my face, and using…kind of…you know…” he shrugged and looked away. “…selective…arguments in your favor.”

Izumo gave him an angrier look, sass and sarcasm forgotten, frowning and looking at him like Kotetsu had just spat on him.  
“Care to explain what you mean by ‘selective’?” Izumo requested.  
“I mean, when I told you back at the lab that someone was street fighting, you _literally_ said ‘It’s not so bad’” Kotetsu said trying to be calm, but Izumo still groaned and rolled his eyes. “Izumo, I’m trying to reason calmly with you, but you seem to almost _want_ to fight and you keep initiating it.”  
“What I meant with that, you dumbass, was that it’s not so bad compared to the other things we’d seen in the study!” Izumo exclaimed. “And I meant it as in, it’s not so bad because we weren’t talking about you!”  
“See? There you are again being selective” Kotetsu pointed. “Your argument just last night was that I didn’t care about others and how you, Saint Izumo, care about every single person on this planet and their wellbeing and that they sleep in a cozy, warm bed every night-”  
“Oh my god, Kotetsu-”  
“-and now you’re telling me you said street fighting wasn’t a big deal because it wasn’t me you were talking about” Kotetsu continued and raised his eyebrows at him as if waiting for Izumo to admit he was right. “See how you’re being hypocrite?”  
“Hypo-” Izumo basically jumped out of his seat at that word, and whatever trace of serenity he had on himself was instantly gone. “How _dare_ you, Kotetsu!? How fucking _dare_ you call me that!?”  
“Izum-”  
“You could call me an idiot, a liar, you could call me a fucking disgrace!” Izumo yelled at him loud enough for the whole building to hear. “But I won’t tolerate for one half of a second that you call me a _hypocrite!”_

“I mean, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just mean- you…kinda _have_ been” Kotetsu said, and just as Izumo was taking a gasp of air to keep yelling at him, Kotetsu stood up, putting his hands up. “I don’t mean you’re a hypocrite friend, I just mean you’ve been using hypocrite arguments-”  
“How fucking _dare_ you!?”  
“Because like, how is this any different from high school? Back then I picked fights specifically aiming to hurt, and hurt for real, and you never once freaked out on me like this, and now that I’m-”  
“That was _so_ different, Kotetsu!”  
“-at least doing this consciously and it’s consensual from both the guys I fight and myself, and I don’t aim to hurt just to hurt, I’m aiming to do as less harm as possible, and yet you’re freaking out on me like I’m murdering people for fun!”  
“It’s so different, Kotetsu, it’s not being selective, it’s different!”  
“But how is it different!?”  
“Because I was fucking _fifteen_ , Kotetsu Hagane!!” Izumo yelled in rage. “I wasn’t any smarter or wiser than you were-!”  
“So why do you keep acting like you are now?” Kotetsu interrupted, not helping but snap at him.

“I’ve never tried to pretend I’m smarter or wiser than you, I’m just being rational and using my fucking common sense!”  
“So I lack common sense, it’s not that you’re smarter, I’m just a fucking idiot.”  
“Right now, yes!!” Izumo yelled. “And you were going through a very tough time, everything in life piled up on you at once, you were angry! It’s no excuse but at least it’s understandable, but this is just a fucking tantrum for _money!”_  
“Oh, so it’s fine if I nearly kill a teen by punching him if I’m having a tough time, but I’m Satan for pinning an adult down safely when he agreed to fight.”  
“How can you _still_ not see everything that’s wrong with this, Kotetsu!?” Izumo yelled. “I’m just trying to make you reason and stop unnecessarily endangering your health and your _life_ and you dare call me a hypocrite!”  
“I said I didn’t mean it as a friend, I said-”  
“So I’m the hypocrite for wanting you to come back home every night, but you’re a good friend after having lied to me and hidden this from me for so long!?” Izumo continued. “How is lying and hiding the truth not hypocrite!?”  
“Oi, Izumo, I wasn’t lying to you, I-!”  
“So what do you call it!? Telling me you’re going somewhere with someone and then it’s all not true, what do you call that!?”

“I’m telling you that I don’t want to fight anymore, Izumo!”  
“Really? Because it seems to me that you love fighting, enough to lie to who you swore was your best friend!”  
“Oh, so you’re not my best friend anymore? That’s what you’re saying?”  
“What? No! Kotetsu, don’t twist my words!”  
“You’ve twisted mine, how is it fair that you get to get angry over it and complain but when I do you freak out on me like I spat on you or something!?” Kotetsu accused. “You’ve done but insult me and be unfair on me and play victim this whole time-”  
“How am I playing victim when all I’m trying is that you stop endangering yourself!?”  
“-first saying it’s not the big deal because it’s not me so who cares about others, then getting angry because I’m hurting others, you’re not angry because of ethics, you’re just angry at whatever excuse you can find!”  
“I’m angry because I don’t want you to fucking die!”  
“And you’re- yes, you’re exaggerating!” Kotetsu exclaimed. “You keep seeing this as if I’m into a mafia, and you can’t see it’s just a bunch of guys just hanging out, like, yeah, it’s not a picnic, but it’s not like I’m hanging with killers and kidnappers!” and looking away and muttering quite bitterly, not even convinced about it himself but needing an argument, he said, “You just see it that way because it’s not a middle class neighborhood and you’ve always been in your bubble of privilege.”

Izumo widened his eyes angrily at him.  
“My bubble of priv- just what is that supposed to mean!?”  
“Oh, come on, Izumo, your parents’ house was in a nice neighborhood and you know very well where my mom’s always been” Kotetsu muttered. “So really you’re just freaking out on me because you think lower class neighborhoods are a nest of rats and killers when it’s literally not near that.”  
“Oh, so we’re just going to ignore that I spent literally more time at your place and your neighborhood than at mine, basically living the same fucking life than you.”  
“But it’s not the same, you always had everything you wanted-!”  
“And none of that ever made me a millionth bit as happy as I was playing in the mud with you!”  
“-and you at least had both your parents with you, I’ve only had mom!”  
“Oh, so it’s better to have two shitty parents than a single loving one!?”  
“Why are we even bringing this up, Izumo, this is not even the problem!”  
“It was literally you who started, what the _fuck!?”_

“All I’m trying to say” Kotetsu yelled and tried to keep calm, speaking slower but not lower. “Is that you’re exaggerating and there was literally no need for any of this fucking mess you did.”  
“The mess _I_ did!? Kotetsu, what the fuck, we’d have never fought if you’d never gotten into illegal underground fighting, lied to me about it, and hid it from me!”  
“No, we wouldn’t have fought if I hadn’t told you” Kotetsu said. “Because before I told you, you were _very_ happy with everything. If I hadn’t told you, I’d still be bringing you gifts and you’d still be cheering on me and saying thanks, but I told you and it all went to shit. All the gifts I got you, the places we hung out at, every ride on the bike, you were on the fucking clouds, and now all my effort to make you so happy backfires on me as the villain, a brainless idiot, and an unethical demon, right?”  
“I was happy because I didn’t know you were putting yourself at risk for that!” Izumo complained. “Kotetsu, how can I be happy with things that you got by being beaten by strangers!? I don’t want anything that’s got your pain on it!”  
“That’s the thing, Izumo, I’ve never been seriously hurt!”  
“So far! So far, and we already spoke about this!” Izumo yelled back. “It’s not if you’ve been seriously hurt so far, it’s the fact that you can be at any given point!”

“Izumo, look, why don’t you just come with me and see by yourself that it’s not as bad as it seems?”  
“Go with you!?” Izumo yelled. “Unbelievable, Kotetsu, are you still planning to go back!? After all I’ve said, after all Iruka said!?”  
“I mean, it’s easy and fast money that lets me get plenty stuff, and I don’t mean just videogames, Izumo-”  
“I already told you that I don’t want anything you buy with your pain!”  
“But you’re not the only one that benefits from this, Izumo! It’s not all about you!” Kotetsu snapped. “With this money I can also give so much more to my Ma, and you know how much it helps her!”  
“Oh, no, Kotetsu, you’re not going to use your mom’s situation to play the selfless martyr that suffers for someone else’s wellbeing, you’re not using that against me!”  
“I’m not playing martyr, I’m not saying she’s dying without the extra I can give her, all I’m saying is if I can make the people I love happier through something I’m good at, then why the hell can I not!?”

Izumo didn’t reply at first. He growled out loud as he put his hands to his eyes.  
“This is useless” he stated much more calmly. “This is useless, Kotetsu. We’re going in circles in this and no matter what I say, I won’t convince you.” Kotetsu looked at him with some worry, not sure if it was right to stay angry. Izumo let go of his eyes and frowned at him. “You know what, Ko? I don’t give a shit. I’m not going to try anymore to talk you out of this, because I’ve tried, and so far, you’ve been ignoring me, bringing up my parents for no other reason than just slap me in the face, and calling me a fucking- hypocrite” as he stated that, his voice hesitated for a moment, and Kotetsu felt a pinch of fear thinking Izumo was going to cry. However, instead of that, Izumo gave him an angrier look. “I’m done. You’re helpless.”

And with that, Izumo walked past him, making sure to bump his shoulder into Kotetsu to push him aside and kept going to his room, like was now usual. Kotetsu sighed and rolled the eyes, trying to keep calm but unable to.  
“You always have to have the last word, don’t you?” Kotetsu complained. Izumo only made some dismissive noise, which did but anger him more. “Izumo!”

But Izumo just shut his door loud enough to state he wasn’t going to come back. Kotetsu groaned and passed his hands from his eyes to his hair, and went to drop himself on the couch.  
What the hell had just happened? He had been completely confident about approaching Izumo to settle things down and be done with this unnecessary fight, he had really meant to talk it through calmly, and things got of control so easy so fast, he didn’t even notice in which point it started. What was happening? 

They never fought. Never like this. They had both been very open about everything through their entire lives, and when something bad happened, they had always managed to speak things through. True, there could have been some arguments and fights but they were never this bad nor did they last this long. Sweet god, they were both psychologists and couldn’t figure a way to talk things through, which was literally their job? Analyzing friends was impossible, sure, they taught that in the very first months of psychology school, but he didn’t mean working it professionally, he meant just like mature people that supposedly knew that anger was just a coping mechanism for something else, they just had to calmly talk things through and express what they felt and thought and work it out. But every time they spoke, something just…fucking exploded all over the place.

Wow, what had possessed Izumo that he kept acting this way? Kotetsu knew that what he was doing wasn’t exactly right, but it wasn’t a deal this big. Izumo was acting like Kotetsu had majorly and deliberately broken their friendship just for money, and it was the total opposite. He just-  
He just wanted to make Izumo happy. Get him games and books and things and help him clear his student loans. Take him somewhere nice. Go on vacations to the beach or to the mountains or to a nice little cozy town with him…honestly, Kotetsu didn’t think that wanting to make him happy was so bad…Kotetsu had only meant to make him happy, he wholeheartedly was loving to see Izumo happy with every gift and little detail…he didn’t want a yatch or a mansion, all he wanted was to give Izumo things and experiences and see him smile…  
…and yet Izumo dared…spit on all of this.  
What an asshole.

Izumo did out come later, he just decided to go who knows where with god knows who and came back until very late, apparently having had dinner somewhere else. Kotetsu didn’t question him, decided to ignore him, and Izumo didn’t even seem to mind as he ignored him back just as hard. So Kotetsu went to bed that night cursing Izumo and cursing his drama, and telling himself that he had tried, more than once, to make things right, and it was Izumo who would insist on fighting. So really if Izumo was the one that made himself go to bed hungry and-or upset, that was his own fault, and Kotetsu couldn’t do anything to help someone that didn’t want to be helped.  
So Kotetsu, for the third night in a row, let him go to bed upset. At least he wasn’t hungry, that moron.


	7. Chapter 7

They took up on not speaking to each other again. Kotetsu served them both breakfast like always, but they actively ignored each other. That Sunday went by strange, neither going out but not hanging together, either, despite being locked away in the same apartment, which wasn’t particularly big either. Izumo sat down to play some games, and if Kotetsu watched him and imagined that there wasn’t a fight between them, he would really believe it. Izumo seemed calm, if only a bit tired, but he kept avoiding contact. So Kotetsu avoided him back. Lunch and dinner were as silent and awkward as breakfast, and going to bed that night made Kotetsu feel rather empty.

When the week started, he thought that they could probably just let time ease things, help them calm down and figure out their own anger each on their own, and then finally manage to work it through together.  
The thing was, Izumo started being petty. In Kotetsu’s eyes, that is.  
So Kotetsu started being petty back.

It started on Monday’s breakfast, when Izumo quietly spat back a bit of his bite, made a disgusted face at it, and set it aside. Kotetsu knew it was very plausible that he had just munched on a nerve or a bit that wasn’t fully cooked, and he didn’t make a drama out of it, but he couldn’t help but wonder if Izumo was doing that on purpose just to be petty to try and make Kotetsu angry. At first Kotetsu let it go. But he made sure to leave a used tissue on the table. It was supposed to be there just for a bit, he told himself, just while he took his dish to the sink, and it was absolutely not left there hoping that Izumo got slightly annoyed because he hated this kind of tiny nuisances. Izumo hated things not being clean, and while he was not overly obsessed about it, he hated that things that could be immediately cleaned were not. Dishes could wait, for example, but he hated when people left, for example, used tissues on counters or tables when they could have been thrown away easily or put in a pocket for later.

Kotetsu convinced himself that he would pick it up as soon as he was done at the sink, so really it was not his fault when he heard Izumo’s little sigh of frustration, and then saw him from the corner of his eye as he picked the tissue himself and threw it in the trashcan. He didn’t seem majorly bothered. Kotetsu shrugged it off.  
Izumo, once more, refused to get on the bike, not even going to the parking lot and just walking straight towards the bus stop. Kotetsu rolled his eyes at that, because it was clearly Izumo being petty on purpose and unnecessarily. So he took the bike and unnecessarily sped to their job.

Little petty things kept happening across the day and the week. Kotetsu retook the old manual sharpener and wouldn’t clean up when he needed to sharpen his pencil. And he decided to sharpen a few color pencils too, and didn’t clean his side of the desk. Izumo kept throwing glances of hatred at the pile of garbage, but would just focus back on his job. Izumo would keep making startling noises each now and then, accidentally dropping the stapler on the little metal box under his desk where he kept files, kept drumming his fingers on the desk when he _knew_ Kotetsu was easily distracted, or sighed out loud too many times just to distract him. Kotetsu needed to hand him some papers so he made sure to staple them in the middle of the page so Izumo would have to take the staple out carefully and do it right himself.

Izumo stopped going to the gym with him, apparently going straight home on the evenings that were supposed to be spent exercising, and he kept using the bus and the subway to move around without acknowledging the bike in the slightest. Kotetsu started leaving tissues and paper balls around the apartment on purpose, and figured that the cleaning things were the ones that annoyed Izumo most, so he started messing with that; not turning the roomba on when he was supposed to, leaving dirty glasses around, only half washing the pans and pots he used to cook. 

The thing about Izumo was that he could be even pettier. He would keep making noises when Kotetsu was trying to focus on something, be it at their job or when playing a videogame, he would check the food before eating it like testing if it was dirty or poisoned, would just toss Kotetsu’s laundry clothes on his bed instead of folding them like he always did, he wouldn’t close his door when he knew Kotetsu hated it. If Kotetsu opened a window, Izumo would close it. Kotetsu brushed his teeth letting the toothpaste spit rain all over the mirror and sink without cleaning it, and Izumo took up on not cleaning it and even circling every dot of spit with a marker to hint Kotetsu to clean it himself, giving him a sarcastic guide in case “he couldn’t see that”.  
They reached a point where Kotetsu started sneezing without covering his nose because Izumo was easily grossed out, and Izumo kept getting rid of all the syrup bottles somehow because that was Kotetsu’s favorite food. 

And none of them would point any of these endless petty acts to each other, even the ones that were most obvious. Which only served to bottle more and more anger.

“You guys are acting weird” their boss lady Tsunade had said out of nowhere once when they were following her through the hospital, towers of files and books in their arm. She had stopped and turned around to give them a questioning look. “Are you okay?”  
“Yeah, we’re fine” Kotetsu had been first to lie as naturally as he could, and Izumo, next to him, nodded. They looked at each other in the perfect sync of always, giving each other a calm look and just nodding, and then back at her. Kotetsu made a mental note that it was the first time they looked at each other to the eyes in days. “What do you mean acting weird?”  
“I don’t know…just…weird” Tsunade had said with a shrug as she eyed them once more, shamelessly scanning them. After a moment, she just sighed and turned around to keep walking, and so, they followed promptly. 

And those few days went like that, petty little acts quickly escalating, none of them acknowledging them, none of them able to work through their anger individually because something kept happening that poked in their anger and made it rise again and worse, ignoring each other and provoking without saying a thing. So unlike what Kotetsu hoped and thought, time didn’t do anything for them other than worsen things further and further, each little act and each bigger one adding to the already overloaded anger that didn’t fit in any bottle anymore but kept being contained through the forces of stubbornness. 

And it only got worse through the last expected factor: Kotetsu’s mom. Indirectly and unintentionally, of course.  
She texted Kotetsu on Friday telling him that when he visited her, could he please take a look at her washing machine because it had broken and stopped working. On Saturday, Izumo spoke with someone at the phone, happily and lightheartedly, only to later on grab his jacket, put his shoes on, and left without even telling Kotetsu who he was hanging with or where or when he was coming home. It was already weird enough to see Izumo hang out with someone and not tag along…even weirder, almost surreal to see Izumo just…leave like that, with not a word to him. He wouldn’t ask, though, wouldn’t give him the pleasure to be first to speak. So, guessing he had no plans, apparently, he decided to visit his mom that day.

“No, Ma, sorry. I can’t find a way to fix it” Kotetsu said after he had tried from every angle and every screw of the machine. “Have you already called a technician?”  
“I had one over earlier and said it had no repair, but I hoped maybe he was just dumb” his mom said worriedly, a hand to her cheek and the other arm crossed. “My. I guess it was its time, it’s pretty old.”  
“Well, then there’s no other answer than getting a new one” Kotetsu said as he took his wallet out and checked in it. “I’ll give you a bit extra to get laundry done at self-service this week, and I’ll grab some cash next week for a new machine, how about that?”  
“But Ko-chan, they’re quite expensive and I hadn’t planned to get a new one” she said. Kotetsu couldn’t help a happy giddy smile at the pet name.  
“That’s ok, Ma, you know I’ve been getting an extra at my job and I’ve been spending less in stupidities, so I’ve got some good savings” Kotetsu said. “Plus, it’s not like this should wait, you can’t just wash by hand everyday or go to the service every week; the money spent at the self-service would be the same than a new machine in a couple months, so why not get the machine anyway?”

His mom sighed but gave him a smile.  
“I feel kind of bad that you’ve been spending so much on me, Ko, it’s money you earned working hard by yourself” she said, approached him, and petted his hair. “But I do deserve that after raising you, huh? You, little menace of a child.”  
“You absolutely do” Kotetsu said after he had laughed with her. “I was a menace but I was adorable. Right?”  
“Yeah…sure…” she said with playful and exaggerated sarcasm. He laughed and huffed at her, and both laughed again. “Speaking of adorable, you haven’t mentioned Izumo” Kotetsu’s stomach flipped inside him, taken completely off guard. “Are you guys okay?”  
“Yeah, he’s just, he had other things to do” Kotetsu said as lightheartedly as he could, and in a matter of a flash he panicked; he didn’t know if Izumo had already told her and she was just testing what he said and he was just messing up worse by lying, or if she had no idea but her mom senses were tingling. God damn Izumo, the heavens damn him, he got along with his mom so well she had a mom sense for him too, fuck, she would know, would she know if he kept lying? Fuck. Fuck. “But yeah, why would we not be okay? We’re like syrup and waffles.”

Kotetsu felt his stomach shrink and he felt genuinely bad at his own comment. It had been too cute. He cursed himself for the self-stab.  
“I think you’re more like syrup and hot cakes” she mused, oblivious to him as she went into the kitchen with the idea of getting something syrup-based for Kotetsu now that the subject had been brought up. “Everyone knows syrup and hot cakes go together better than syrup and waffles.”  
“That’s not true, they’re both as good but waffle sounds cuter, and you asked for cute, so that’s what got in my head.”  
“So Izumo is the waffle and you’re the syrup?”  
“But why does Zum get to be the cute one?”  
“But you like syrup more than waffles.”  
“I like syrup more than anything.”  
“So why are you upset that you don’t get to be the waffle?”

Kotetsu just playfully whined in response and she laughed. For a moment he felt genuinely bad to have this quarrel going on with Izumo, partly for his mom that loved them both so much and was apparently oblivious to the disaster going on between them, and partly for Izumo himself. It would be a lie to say that Kotetsu didn’t miss him. They _were_ like syrup and waffles and everybody knew that waffles without syrup were sad and grey and flavorless. For a moment it felt like Zum was the syrup, and he was the lonely, grey, flavorless waffle.  
Then again, Izumo was behaving like an unfair idiot, and Kotetsu had tried to calmly reason with him, so…really there was not much he could do so long Izumo stayed so narrow-minded.

“Say hi to Izumo for me!” his mom asked happily like usual after she had kissed him goodbye, and he tried to promise yes as natural as always, with a slight pinch of guilt by knowing he wouldn’t. 

When he got home Izumo was already there, sat at the TV, headphones on and playing online with someone. Kotetsu ignored him and got into his own routine. He avoided the waffles for dinner…not like it was a hard task, with Izumo having hidden the god damn fucking syrup _again._

Kotetsu went to bed thinking about his mom and the washing machine. He thought about Izumo and waffles, and his stomach twisted a bit, wishing again to go knock at Izumo’s door to ask forgiveness and can we please stop this stupid fight. But the more he thought about it, the more the bottled anger came out in little drops reminding him of all the petty things and all the bad things and he couldn’t help but become angrier.  
Why knock at his door if Izumo was just going to be a drama queen and not open, wait on purpose for Kotetsu to insist? Oh, so that was why he did it. That was why he didn’t answer the door the first time every time Kotetsu called, even when he had done it softly and gently; because he wanted Kotetsu to fucking beg. He didn’t want to make things right unless he got to humiliate Kotetsu first, huh? He wanted to be friends again so long Kotetsu dropped to his knees and said Izumo was right all along. 

Pscht. That idiot with a superiority complex that couldn’t admit for the love of anything when he was wrong. What was so bad about admitting to being wrong just once? It wouldn’t harm him, but no, Izumo had too much pride to gloat in to surrender, of course it had to be Kotetsu even when he wasn’t doing anything bad, not too bad. That petty little idiot that couldn’t talk things through like the mature adult he bragged so much to be, stepping down on Kotetsu when at least Kotetsu had tried to talk things through, when he had at least tried anything other than insult him and yell at him. And he kept being so…annoying at work and making these noises and making such a drama out of this and hiding the goddamn syrup and…and…!

The mix of thoughts between his mom needing a new washing machine and the bottled anger against Izumo brought Kotetsu, of course, to the most natural of answers in his chaotic state.  
After staring at the ceiling for a moment, he sat up in bed, pushed the sheets off himself, and started getting dressed again.  
So what if Izumo didn’t approve of this? It wasn’t like he was his mom, he couldn’t tell him what to do. Indeed, Izumo said it himself, they’re the same age, he wasn’t any wiser or smarter than him, even when he kept pretending and saying he was, that indecisive, selective little shit. Indeed, Kotetsu _wanted_ this to anger him, Izumo was annoying him on purpose just to make him angry, so he deserved some of it back, right? And it wasn’t like he was doing any wrong, or like this was new, or like he needed approval or support, fuck Izumo.

Despite the thoughts about not caring what Izumo said, Kotetsu still remained quiet as he got dressed and ready, fearing to make noises too obvious to wake his friend up in case he was already asleep. Kotetsu checked his phone, made sure he was ready, opened the door of his room- and nearly walked into Izumo, standing right there outside his room, arms crossed, and glaring at him. Kotetsu jumped in his spot and had to close the eyes, a hand to his speeding heart, and trying to calm down, but not helping but mutter out a curse.

“You going somewhere?” Izumo asked him bitterly. “At ten at night?” Kotetsu didn’t reply. He frowned back and tried to hold eye contact, but he ended up looking away, pouting slightly. They remained in a tense, long silence in which Izumo pressured him by glaring harder and harder, but Kotetsu refused to answer. Finally, Izumo half-groaned half-sighed and dropped his arms. “You’re unbelievable, Kotetsu. Unbe-fucking-livable-”  
“I don’t need your permission, okay?” Kotetsu snapped at him in a hissed whisper. “I don’t care if you don’t like it, it’s been a great help to me.”  
“From all things I held you for, I certainly never expected you to be the kind of person that valued money above everything else.”  
“It’s not the money I value, Izumo” Kotetsu snarled at him as firm as he could sound. “I don’t even like how the economy system works, but I didn’t make it and I certainly can’t do anything to change it, so I just have to roll with it. It’s not the money, it’s the things it allows me to get, and I don’t mean just materially, I mean the experiences and the peace, too.”

“Peace?” Izumo hissed.  
“Like being done with my uni loans, have no debts” Kotetsu said angrily like it was obvious. “Why do I have to live in a constant struggle and stress if I can ease it with just a bit extra? It’s not like I’m mugging anyone, they’re giving me the money on free will.”  
“Go back to your room, Kotetsu” Izumo ordered.  
“You have no power to order me around, Izumo” Kotetsu complained. “Move aside.”  
“Do you need me to fucking beat you up to get you in bed? What do you want, Kotetsu? You want me to beg?”  
“So far it’s you who seems to want _me_ to beg, you petty asshole-”  
_“You_ think _I’m_ petty?” Izumo laughed sarcastically. “Says the guy that won’t wash the fucking dishes just out of spite because I called you an idiot when you _are_ behaving like an idiot!”  
“Why are you back at insulting me with literally no reason!? See how you’re not interested in working this out? You’re just taking the tiniest of chances to insult me!”  
“Go back to your fucking room, Kotetsu!”  
“And I’m telling you I won’t, I’m going to get a bit extra to get things I need!”

“If this is about your mom’s washing machine, there are things called self-service laundry, she can very much go there while we save up for a new one, there’s no need-”  
“But why unnecessarily waste a few yen every week across many months-”  
“-to get a brand new one out of nowhere when-”  
“-when in the end she’d be spending the same or more than a new one-”  
“-we can save up eventually from our normal spare until we can finally get her a new one-”  
“-so why not just make one big waste rather than many tiny ones that will end up being the same?”  
“-instead of going around beating strangers for money like a fucking savage!”

It was Kotetsu’s turn to grasp his hair and groan in exasperation.  
“Izumo, just…just move aside” he said as he shook his head, frowning at his…friend. “It’s my Ma, it’s my choice, and I choose what to do about her fucking washing machine.”  
“I’m no mother, Kotetsu, so I won’t say I know what she’d say, but I think that it’s pretty obvious that your mom would prefer to have you unharmed and peaceful in bed every night than having a new washing fucking machine.”

Kotetsu didn’t reply. He kept his gaze elsewhere, trying with all his might to not answer and snap at him. He had a lot of things to say, but, for once, he stayed quiet and didn’t argue. Izumo still stood quiet, waiting.  
“Kotetsu, I’m talking to you.”  
“And I’m waiting for you to be done” Kotetsu replied and gave him a severe look. “You done? Can I go now?”  
“What, you’re not going to say anything?”  
“No” Kotetsu stated simply. Izumo blinked at him questioningly. Kotetsu shrugged and shook the head. “No, I won’t say anything, because no matter what I say, you’ll just twist it or take it as an excuse to insult me. I’m not bothering anymore with someone that doesn’t really want to listen and just wants to attack.”  
“I’m not _attacking_ you, don’t be dramatic” Izumo snarled. Once more, even though he waited, Kotetsu just stood there looking elsewhere. “Kotetsu!” 

But Kotetsu stayed quiet. It was after a while that Kotetsu looked at him and raised his eyebrows.  
“You done now?” he murmured. Izumo stared in disbelief until he just rolled the eyes and shook the head. “Okay.”

And just like that, Kotetsu put a hand to his arm, and pushed him aside. It was soft and slow, but it was a gesture so new and so daring, that Izumo still couldn’t help but stagger as Kotetsu moved him aside. Gentle and even hesitant as it was, Izumo still couldn’t help but open his eyes in disbelief, mouth open, and then freezing in his spot watching Kotetsu walk away. It took Izumo a while to bring himself out of the idea that Kotetsu had moved him aside, but he forced himself to it and rushed after him before Kotetsu reached the door.  
“So you’re not going to drop this, for real?” he asked and, while he thought it would come out angry and menacing, it came out a little hesitant, near fearful. 

Kotetsu stopped near the door and sighed. He stood there in silence, refusing to look at his friend.  
“Kotetsu!”  
“No, Izumo, no, I won’t stop!” he snapped as he turned around to face him. For a moment, the two stayed quiet, Kotetsu swinging between feeling bad for snapping out at his friend but still shaken, and Izumo just giving him a look between surprised and offended. Kotetsu sighed and looked away, shook the head, and looked at Izumo again with pleading eyes. “Izumo, I’m not in danger, I’m not seriously hurting anyone either, it’s easy, it’s fast, and it gives me things. And yes, I want and love those things” he paused. He swallowed and held eye contact with Izumo, firm and confident. “I don’t want a luxurious yatch and golden clocks, Izumo. I want to live. I want to have more than this dull routine and grey life in this apartment, my job, the apartment and back to my job. I want to go places, Izumo, I want to have things. I want to see Hong-Kong, I want to go to that winter market in Germany, I want to go to that crystal-clear beach in Indonesia. Fuck, just a local beach on a two day trip, just that. I want to get a Master’s, and I want to get my Ma a new house, I want to have a car. I want to have games that make me happy and give my friends things that make them happy, too, I want to give you and the guys all the little things we normally can’t afford, I want to give the delivery guy more than just some miserable cents, be able to donate to hard-working little independent creators, support freelancers, I want to go places and see things and do things and have things and gift things…!”

He paused again with a sigh.  
“I want to have _more,_ Izumo” he stated. “I don’t want to have just enough. I want a fortune. And I’m not getting it with my current wage, and if I can make a little extra, what’s so wrong about it, Izumo? What’s so wrong about wanting a fortune?”

Both stayed quiet afterwards, staring at each other. Kotetsu swallowed and looked slightly away. For a good while none moved or said anything, just standing in the room quietly. The noise of the clock on the nearby wall was making Kotetsu nervous, not sure what he would do if Izumo still refused to see it was not as bad as he pretended it was.  
“…okay” Izumo finally murmured. Kotetsu looked at him again. Izumo was frowning slightly, looking to a side. He crossed the arms. “Fine. Go get your bloodied money that makes you so happy” he looked at Kotetsu with a deeper frown. “But don’t call me. I won’t support you through this, and I don’t want to know shit about it either. I won’t wait for you awake. And don’t wake me up when you arrive, I don’t care anymore” he frowned deeper. “I don’t even care if you get home at _all._ So don’t bother letting me know, because I won’t care like I used to.”

Kotetsu’s eyebrows twitched, but he refused to acknowledge the wince he felt in his tummy.  
“Fine, I wasn’t going to, anyway” Kotetsu replied as he finished putting his sneakers on. “Seen as you only care when it’s to your convenience.”  
“Wow” Izumo said after huffing out, shaking the head, and looking away. “Just go, Kotetsu, I hope someone breaks your fucking ribs so you can get your mom a fucking washing machine.”  
“That’s such a nice thing to say from the guy that’s made a drama for a whole ass week because, what did you say? Oh yes, because you ‘care about my wellbeing’. Of course you hope someone breaks my ribs” Izumo replied with an angry noise and then stormed away into the hallway. Kotetsu wanted to mutter out ‘hypocrite’, but couldn’t bring himself to it. He flinched slightly when Izumo slammed his door closed, brushed off the ugly feelings, and grabbed his keys.

He left the apartment even angrier than he was before, and couldn’t stop thinking about Izumo all the way to the abandoned warehouse.

The anger fueled him in the ring, and he took up on ten guys, because three of them had gone down in two movements. Every time he landed a punch, he thought of Izumo, and thought of his own rage, and thought of the stupid washing machine, and his hits got stronger and harsher. Inevitably, he took out a lot of his rage in the guys he fought. He pinned them down, straddled them and landed hit after hit on their faces until they were well bruised or bleeding. He tackled harder than he used to, kicked harder than he meant, and the fact that he couldn’t stop his own anger made him angrier. 

It only eased when, after the tenth guy went down, already breathless and clearing his head enough to realize he was doing more harm than he intended, Kotetsu decided to leave it at that, stretched the hand to receive the last bets he accepted, and walked away. On the way home in the subway, well past midnight, Kotetsu counted the money.  
Almost a whole new washing machine in one night. 

Despite the bloodied nose and sore body, and despite having basically just fucked up his best friendship of an entire life a few hours ago, Kotetsu couldn’t help but feel genuinely happy as he stared at the bills in his hand.  
As he put them away in the secret pocket of his pants, he relaxed in his seat and contained a happy sigh.

When he got home, almost by instinct he had reached for Izumo’s door, but stopped before he got to grab the knob. Right. Izumo had told him to not wake him up, because he didn’t care. Pscht. Like he had ever done.  
Feeling a little odd that, for the first time since they lived together, he hadn’t let Izumo know he was home, Kotetsu went to his own room and got ready for bed. 

He counted the money again and stared at it to try to think if it had been worth it. Having had that fight with Izumo, the ten guys he beat. Worth it in exchange of a new washing machine for his mommy, to just give her a bit of an easier daily chore routine.  
Kotetsu smiled at the bills in his hand.  
Fuck Izumo. This was absolutely worth it. Who needed a hypocrite, aggressive petty “friend”, when there were other people he could make happy with his money, and that would actually appreciate it?  
Yeah. Fuck Izumo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oi, Kotetsu, when I said 'fuck Izumo' I didn't mean it like this haksdlfdg


	8. Chapter 8

The crowd cheered as Kotetsu was pushed back into it, some people half catching him but still laughing as he tried pushing them back as impulse to get back on his feet. With a low growl, he ran back into the little arena at full speed, dodging the guy’s punch and tackling him, the crowd cheering louder as he managed to throw him down and get on him. He punched once, but the guy started struggling back until he managed to land a blow on Kotetsu’s face, distracting him enough to roll them around and get a vantage hand again.

Kotetsu was pinned down for a moment, receiving punch after punch, before he let out a louder growl, like a war-cry, and managed to pull a leg out and up, hooked it onto the other guy’s shoulder, and threw him down and into an expert lock. The crowd cheered as Kotetsu choked this guy with his thighs and struggled until capturing his arm.  
“Ten thousand if you knock him out by choking! Eleven thousand!”  
But when the guy started patting the floor with a palm, Kotetsu took it as a sign and let go. The guy rolled around and cleaned his nose, gave him an angry look, and walked away into the crowd. With a sigh, Kotetsu tried to ease his breath, and he started going around the crowd collecting all the bets he took up and fulfilled.

Minutes later, he was heading to the bus stop while caressing his neck and hissing in pain, and as he mentally reprimanded himself. God, that rolling around had been so clear, why hadn’t he seen it coming? He sort of did, his brain just…was slow at reacting. He would have normally blocked that so easily, what was wrong with him?  
Fuck. It was Izumo. It had to be. Ever since all those arguments with him, every time Kotetsu came into the fight warehouse, he couldn’t focus like he used to. He hadn’t noticed until a week after the last argument he had with Izumo, but he was focusing less in the fights. Dodged less hits, landed less, it was chaotic. Great job, Izumo, now Kotetsu was getting more injured than before thanks to your fucking guilt-tripping.

It was just…Kotetsu kept seeing his idiotic face. Ever since Izumo brought up the whole issue of how it was unethical and that Kotetsu was beating “Another Izumo’s Kotetsu”, he kept…thinking about those guys like another Kotetsu’s Izumo. So he saw this idiot’s face everywhere; he fought and he felt that everyone in the crowd was an Izumo judging him and getting angrier and being disappointed at him. He threw a punch but hesitated and misdirected when he imagined it was Izumo. He had more than twice looked around pretty sure that he had seen an Izumo lookalike, swore that he had seen the real Izumo around, but all that it earned him were hits to the face or the stomach or a kick to the shin. 

He shouldn’t have told him. He could have just kept it a secret and the two would be as happy as they were before Izumo knew the truth. Kotetsu wouldn’t be getting distracted and it would have worked just fine.

Honestly, this had lost its fun a long time ago. Now fighting seemed so senseless and like a waste of time.  
But Kotetsu was not going to drop it. Oh, no, not until Izumo apologized first.  
Honestly, the only reason Kotetsu kept doing this was just to anger Izumo further. That little shit, he thought himself the great thing, kept undermining Kotetsu and stepping on him and still thinking he was the only one that deserved an apology. Like, yeah, maybe Kotetsu had done a little bit wrong at joining this fight club thing, but Izumo had overreacted and plain out attacked him and called him names and said so many crude things. He had lashed out unnecessarily violent, he too had to apologize, and Kotetsu was not going to give him the pleasure to be the first to do it. He always was the first to give in. Izumo was a spoiled little brat too proud to admit he was wrong sometimes, too. 

Things between him and Izumo didn’t get any better across the week. They had just stopped talking most of the time, and bursting into petty fights at random moments. Izumo kept hiding the syrup, making noises at work, and dumping his laundry at his door, and Kotetsu kept leaving dirty dishes and tissues everywhere, sneezing without covering his face, and not organizing things the way Izumo liked them at work. 

The worst part of it all was the mutual tension they shared at trying to keep it hidden from their friends. They came up with lame excuses as to why they couldn’t hang out on weekends, and even lamer ones when any of them did hang out with their friends to try to explain why the other wasn’t there. Inseparable as they were since forever, everyone would force them into talking to each other as soon as they knew they weren’t in good terms, and Kotetsu wasn’t up to that. People would just side with Izumo because Izumo had a way with words that made Kotetsu look like an idiot, so thank you, no. 

Instead of guilt, keeping their fight a secret from family and friends, petty fights, random arguments and not talking only served them to get angrier and angrier each day. Kotetsu noticed each time he went to the warehouse, now more frequent than before, that he either kept getting distracted and punched like an idiot, or he got a bit too aggressive and needed to step back to contain himself, which only got him to be punched like an idiot anyway. He wasn’t sure if Izumo felt the same way. He wondered how he was coping. Knowing him, he was probably talking with someone to vent, most likely Iruka now that he knew too, or just angrily washing the same dish for two hours. 

When he arrived home that night, Kotetsu reached for Izumo’s door. He had stopped going to it when he understood Izumo really didn’t care about him coming home anymore and had asked him to not wake him up, but that night, just out of curiosity, Kotetsu opened the door.  
On his side, giving his back to the door, Izumo laid in bed, silent and peacefully asleep. 

Huh…so he really…did stop caring, huh…?

Kotetsu couldn’t help but feel a pinch at the top of his lungs. He knew that Izumo never said things he didn’t mean, but part of him still wanted- hoped- that Izumo did care even when he had said he didn’t. That he still worried about him. Kotetsu still worried about him, even if he was angry. So he had thought that maybe Izumo reciprocrated at least that, that even if he was angry, he still cared.  
It seemed like he didn’t, like he had sworn. Slept peaceful at night even when he didn’t know if Kotetsu was still out or not.  
Pscht. Like it was the big deal…

Kotetsu closed the door as silently as he could so to not wake Izumo and anger him more, seen as he was already such a bother anyway. He headed to his own room and pushed the mattress aside, taking his new money and looking at it.  
Fuck, he had so much. So much that he didn’t even want to use. Everything he had planned to get all involved Izumo. Trips and things and concerts. What was he supposed to do with all this money, spend it in himself like a rich loser with no friends?  
Still, he tossed the money with the rest and started undressing for bed. Fuck this chaos of a situation.

Only after taking his shirt off he noticed he hadn’t bothered with cleaning his bleeding nose. He had stopped caring about cleaning himself seen as he didn’t have to hide this from Izumo anymore and, most importantly, seen as he wouldn’t care anyway, so why bother cleaning before getting home when he could do it in its comfort?  
That night, however, he felt so tired and annoyed of everything and everyone, so he just tossed his clothes into the basket and threw himself in bed, not sure why he was so upset that Izumo was sleeping peacefully just next door.

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu was in his room chilling on his bed, playing on his phone, when the storming steps outside started growing louder and louder.  
“Ko-tet-su!!” he heard Izumo roar out and dragging the last syllable like a damn pterodactyl, making Kotetsu jump in his place and face the door, barely managing to sit up when his door flew open. Having kicked it open, very literally, Izumo stood at his door and threw something at him with such force and speed Kotetsu had barely managed to make a squeaky noise when some cloth hit him on the face hard enough to feel like an actual slap. “What the fuck, Kotetsu!?”

Not even knowing what was wrong, Kotetsu felt the need to pull back until he could have a wall behind him to know Izumo wasn’t going to eat him, but he ended up just dumbly moving back on his bed, stopping at the edge, and taking the cloth off his face, all in mere seconds, and he looked down at it. It was one of his shirts.  
“Izumo, what the fuck?” Kotetsu exclaimed back, more confused and angry at the idea that Izumo was just doing this to scare him for no reason other than annoy him.  
“Care to explain that!?”  
“Explain wh-” Kotetsu had started asking when he spread his shirt and- oh. Yes.  
There was some blood on it.

Kotetsu stared at it and felt a pinch like it was the first time his secret came out. Instinctively, he got defensive and just glanced at Izumo like waiting for him to throw a punch. Izumo stood still at his doorframe, frowning and glaring at him so intensely he looked like he was one notch from having steam coming off his head.  
“What do you want me to explain? Isn’t it clear?” Kotetsu sassed him. “I bled on it.”

Izumo proceeded to stutter and make unintelligible noises while doing stupid things with his hands, like he didn’t know whether to pull his own hair or choke Kotetsu.  
“The _audacity”_ Izumo hissed at him as soon as he was able to formulate intelligible words. “The fucking _sass_ , Kotetsu Hagane” and out of nowhere, Izumo threw the pair of pants in his hand at Kotetsu too. “You go do your own laundry, Kotetsu, I’m not doing it for you, not if it’s got your fucking, disgusting blood on it!”  
“Wha-” Kotetsu started. “Izumo, don’t be childish!”  
“I do laundry for normal people!!” Izumo yelled at him as he turned on his back and started leaving. “I wash stains and dirt, not fucking blood!”

And like that, he left slamming Kotetsu’s door so loud, Kotetsu was sure the entire building could hear.  
Of course, Izumo, that tiny brat, leaving without giving Kotetsu a tiny chance to explain or even speak. Always having the last word. And now being a fucking…immature little thing. Chores were naturally shared; Izumo knew how to cook, he just would rather not, and Kotetsu really didn’t like ironing, so they had split those: while Kotetsu took up on the cooking, Izumo got in charge of the clothes stuff. Despite all this time, all these two and half weeks they had spent fighting and arguing, Kotetsu had cooked all his meals just the same. He hadn’t spat on them or done some stupid mischief to them like adding salt instead of sugar or not cooking it well. 

Izumo, however? Kept throwing his un-ironed clothes at his door, made a tangled mess, and now he just…wouldn’t even put them in the fucking machine? Kotetsu wasn’t one to judge, he knew all chores had their tricks, but just putting a fucking shirt in a machine, adding soap and clicking a button seemed disgustingly _easy_ and Izumo wouldn’t do even just that? Oh but Kotetsu, who had prepared all his fucking meals, every bowl of rice that needed water and oil and time and preparation, and all the fish that he still took the time to cut in pieces, Kotetsu who still served him things as he liked them, _he_ was the bad, immature, petty guy, huh? 

Making hissing and weird noises out of frustration and anger, Kotetsu messed with his own dirty shirt and threw it to a wall almost hoping it would crumble down. 

°˖✧°˖✧  
Even though Kotetsu still prepared his meals, they had taken on eating in separate places. Izumo started it once when Kotetsu had already served both dishes, but Izumo took his and sat on the counter instead of the little table. Kotetsu, annoyed, and like it was a competition to see who was pettier, took his dish further into the living room next time. So they silently switched, depending on who took which spot first; one at the table, the other at the living room, Izumo in his cozy space and Kotetsu at the counter, or each in their room, whatever happened. 

One night, Kotetsu was in the living room eating his just made dinner, watching TV, when he saw, by the corner of his eye, that Izumo had left his room and headed to the kitchen. He pretended to ignore him while keeping his side attention on him. He heard him look around the counter, heard him open the fridge, heard him mess with some stuff around, and saw him stand still for a moment.  
“…Kotetsu” he heard. Kotetsu replied with a disinterested hum. “…where’s my food?”  
Oh sweet revenge.  
“I cook for normal people” Kotetsu tried to use the same tone Izumo had used on him earlier with the laundry issue. “Not for drama kings.”

He wasn’t sure whether he wanted to see the look on Izumo’s face or not. Most of him was tingling, but he wasn’t sure if it was nerves or regret. All he could see from his side vision was Izumo standing still, apparently watching him. Kotetsu pretended to not be the bundle of nerves he was in the moment and continued eating and pretending to watch TV.  
“Wow” he finally heard Izumo mumble, and saw him disappear from his sight. _“Wow.”_

Whatever that meant, Kotetsu didn’t care and he wasn’t going to. Izumo was being a toddler so Kotetsu could play the game, too.  
He heard as Izumo messed around with kitchenware for a while. Looking for pans, opening the fridge, taking something out. Strangely, though, and a good while into pretending to watch TV but really just hearing Izumo moving around to cook by himself, the noises ceased and Izumo stayed quiet. He guessed maybe Izumo was just messing with his phone or trying to figure out what to prepare, but the silence grew and grew until Kotetsu, moved by curiosity, turned as subtly as he could.

He could only see him from behind. Izumo stood at the kitchen, hands on the counter and head down. After a moment he moved a hand up to his face, and Kotetsu wanted to believe he was stroking his forehead or eyebrows in stress. He cursed himself for the little pinch at the top of his stomach, and he hurried to turn back to the TV when he heard Izumo sigh and move about to turn.  
A second later he saw Izumo storm away towards his room. Kotetsu felt the urge to ask him if he wasn’t going to eat anything, but forced the question to stay in, and Izumo closed his door before Kotetsu could regret anything.  
So he didn’t. He stayed still, a bit paralyzed in his spot, all anger gone and brain frozen, trying to digest the fact that Izumo had really decided to not have dinner. He thought maybe he crossed a line, and maybe he should check on Izumo, see if he was okay…

The concern lasted about a minute before Kotetsu’s stupid brain told him Izumo was probably just ordering something online and making it seem like he wasn’t going to eat, just to make it a drama, where, once more, the victim was him. Pretending he wasn’t eating, to guilt-trip Kotetsu into apologizing and preparing him dinner and feel bad. Oh that poor little thing, that poor little _bastard._  
So Kotetsu kept eating and watching his show. Part of him reminded him that this was the second time he let Izumo go to bed hungry, when he had promised himself all those years ago to not let that happen. Part of him, heated and angry and annoyed and hurt, told him that last time he had tried to make things right, Izumo had just spat on his attempt and made it worse.  
So he let him go to bed hungry, and did nothing about it.


	9. Chapter 9

The best part about stapling papers right in the center of the sheets was that Izumo couldn’t complain to any of their superiors about it, so that was a way to annoy him endlessly. In Kotetsu’s defense, Izumo kept drumming his fingers, had even let his fingernails grow just enough to make a sharper noise with them, humming and hitting his pencil on the desk to distract him, so Kotetsu kept stapling the papers that way. Izumo would have to receive the papers, which was already good enough to annoy him, but then he would have to patiently remove the staples and fix it. He could have complained long ago to their bosses, but if he did, he would have to explain Kotetsu was being petty, and then he would be questioned and cornered to admit they were on bad terms, which would then be chaotic because everybody knew they were the best friends in the world that never, ever fought. And even though that would involve Kotetsu, too, Kotetsu knew that Izumo wanted to deal with explanations as little as he did, so neither of them would dare complain to their superiors. So stapling in an annoying way was a safe way to annoy him.

Said and done, every time he slid papers to Izumo, he saw his jaw grit, heard him try to contain an angry breath, and saw him subtly as he angrily removed the damn staple. Kotetsu found it stupidly hilarious.  
“Very mature, Kotetsu” Izumo muttered when Kotetsu handed him papers that were one upside down, one right, one upside down and so on, making him rearrange them correctly one by one. Kotetsu mimicked his voice in a higher pitch, and Izumo only replied with an angry huff and gripping the papers harder like trying to not snap. 

Very mature, Kotetsu. Pscht. Like Izumo had any right to say that. At least Kotetsu had tried multiple times to talk things through and make things right between them. Izumo just kept…being selective, uptight, aggressive and condescending.  
Kotetsu still hated being on bad terms with him, he still really did hate it. He still had random thoughts at times, about maybe getting a counselor that could be intermediate between them two, kind of like a couple therapist but for friends. The thing was, he let the fight keep growing because he didn’t want to be the first one to give in. Because he already had. He had tried, at least two times, to talk it maturely and calm, and it had been Izumo both times who had flipped the desk and turned it into a drama. Kotetsu had put his part on it. He had tried, and if Izumo didn’t want to work things through, that wasn’t on him. Kotetsu couldn’t help someone that didn’t want to be helped. So he had decided to wait for Izumo to drop his fucking pride and give in, for once.

Except Izumo didn’t. He too let days drag by not doing a thing about it, not trying to talk things through, not telling anyone else in an attempt so they spoke in his place like he had gotten Iruka that once, he wasn’t showing the tiniest sign of wanting to make things right. On the opposite, Izumo too kept being horribly petty and annoying, trying him on purpose, poking around his anger just for fun, and massively ignoring him.  
That was honest to god the worst part of them all, the way he was massively ignoring Kotetsu. He didn’t stop him any other time he went out fighting, he didn’t even glance his way when Kotetsu was clearly going out for the night to go fight, and every time Kotetsu came back Izumo was dead asleep like a log, he just didn’t give a shit. He didn’t care. And it was driving Kotetsu crazier than he wanted to admit. 

Toying with a ball in his room, Kotetsu’s head kept going around Izumo like always, and the longer he thought, the more frustrated and angry he became. With a last toss upwards and catching it in a tight grip, Kotetsu scowled and tossed it away, got up, and reached for his jacket.  
When he walked to the main room, he glanced over at the living room. Izumo was sat on his cozy spot, frowning a bit, reading the old version of his book. Kotetsu stood at the hall some more moments, but no matter how long he stared, Izumo didn’t glance back. He had the audacity of turning his page ever so calmly. 

Okay then. Message received.  
Kotetsu turned to the door and still took a moment putting his shoes on, but glancing back one last time, Izumo kept reading. So Kotetsu turned and left. He still looked at their window from the street, where Izumo’s cozy spot was. He saw him there, still as calm as always, and not once looking out, not even now that Kotetsu supposed Izumo would suppose Kotetsu couldn’t see him. With a last scowl and pinch of annoyance, Kotetsu left for the bus. 

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu squatted to dodge a very amateur hit, keeping his guard up and eyes on his opponent. The other guy kept throwing punches in an attempt to do brute damage, but Kotetsu kept moving back instead of counterattacking, waiting for a good moment, and for better bets. The crowd around him kept teasing both of them, a few were complaining wanting something more crude and bloodied, and some threw random bets in, the usual; a tackle, a black eye, pinning down. 

The other guy kept cursing him. Kotetsu never understood that behavior, even back when he was a dumb teen fighting in the heat of anger. Cursing your opponent like not talking for a second would make you die, what was it worth for? You ran out of breath easily, you weren’t completely in focus, why the hell would you get distracted calling your opponent names instead of punching him at once and that was it? Fights couldn’t be won by words, and if the point was to intimidate, well…that was failing, too. They were words, a combination of sounds, what did it matter and why would Kotetsu be intimidated or angered by it?

“Gonna fight at some fucking point or gonna keep fucking waltzing around, you fucking princess?” the guy kept teasing like the only word he knew was fuck. Kotetsu, full focus on, kept the fists up and eyes on him, moving around without turning his back on him. “Come on! Come on, you scumbag, hit me! Hit me!”

Kotetsu still measured it, not taking his eyes off him, subtly glancing at his every move and taking mental notes. The crowd cheering and the guy still barking and trying to intimidate him, Kotetsu huffed and counted mentally, getting prepared.  
“Four thousand for a one-punch win!” someone in the crowd yelled. Well, Kotetsu could do that, and it would add to his already earned bets. So, once the bet was thrown in and he had measured right, Kotetsu stared at his opponent, saw him move towards him trying to intimidate more while still yelling, saw him try to pretend to punch to see if Kotetsu lowered his guard, dodged a punch, and finally threw a hit as hard as he could straight into the guy’s belly.

As the crowd cheered and laughed, the guy, breathless, dropped to the floor and curled up, hugged to his tummy. Kotetsu snickered and stood still. Honestly this had long ago lost its fun, but every time he got to smack a smartass bully good for nothing, it did feel kind of good. And he was getting paid for it, damn it.  
“The four thousand for the one punch win, who was it?” Kotetsu asked turning to the crowd where he swore he heard it. He stretched the hand and, though it took a moment as it wasn’t rare that people didn’t want to pay in the end, a guy soon handed him the money. “The two thousand for no hands pin?” and he went around collecting his money.  
“You gonna take another round or you’re out, jackass?” one of the guys that seemed to be kind of a moderator from all times he had come around asked him. Kotetsu kept quiet while counting the money, then put it safe in his shoe. There was no trusting pockets around these people. 

He did a mental scan on himself. He thought about checking the time to not come home too late, but shrugged that off as soon as he remembered that no one was waiting for him, anyway. Not actively. So, feeling good physically, he shrugged and accepted another round.  
“Anyone that wants to take on this guy?” the guy yelled for the overall crowd as Kotetsu returned to the ring. “Next fighter?” Kotetsu waited patiently, breathing deep to calm down and get ready, shook his hands and bounced a bit on his toes. “Anyone?”  
_“I’ll_ do it.”

Kotetsu’s heart skipped a beat at the time his stomach and soul fell to his feet.  
_There’s no way…!_

With eyes wide in shock and fear, breathless and as a black hole opened right behind his stomach, Kotetsu turned to the source of the voice.  
With people cheering and mocking all around him like they did to everyone that joined a match, in a casual hoodie and pants, and wearing his bandana as he liked it, Izumo opened his path through the crowd like it wasn’t even there, glaring eyes of poison locked on Kotetsu like he was the only thing that existed.

Kotetsu instinctively took a step back and put an arm up like instead of Izumo he was watching a demon making its way to him ready for murder. And it wasn’t an exaggerated description, for a moment Kotetsu was sure he was just right.  
_There’s no way, no way!!_

_Izumo…!?_

_Izumo!!!_

Izumo! Out of fucking nowhere!? Even worse, out of the damn crowd Kotetsu had been in before, the same crowd that had been watching him fight for about forty minutes already, and he had always been there!? How did he get here, how did he know where the warehouse was, had he followed Kotetsu!? Since _when!?_ Was this a first time, did he already know forehand, had he been here before, oh my god, Kotetsu’s head went into a whirlwind of questions and shock and fear.  
“Good luck, baby face” he heard the mod from before giggle at Izumo as soon as he was in the match circle, but not even the mockery made him flinch in the slightest. He was frowning and had his furious yet cold eyes on Kotetsu the entire time, shooting daggers at him through the gaze alone.

For a good while Kotetsu stood there petrified, unable to do but stare back in shock, barely breathing. He couldn’t even process just how Izumo had appeared here, let alone the fact that he wanted to _fight_ him. For a moment, Kotetsu’s shock was eased and replaced by anger.  
Izumo, that horrible bastard, dared follow him here and now he dared…do this!? Dear god, he was unbelievable!  
“Three thousand for the first that pins the other down!” the first bet was thrown in. However, none of them moved. 

Izumo, still glaring, separated his feet just enough, bent the knees very slightly, and put his fists up, taking up on a defensive stance.  
And suddenly, to Kotetsu’s shock and anger he added a pinch, and a sudden strong one, of fear and nerves, _for_ Izumo. Subtly, he looked around at the crowd hunting for reactions. Shit. Shit, these people were going to eat Izumo alive if they noticed he wasn’t a street fighter. 

Izumo had never…fought for real. All his fighting knowledge was scholastic, from martial arts, only recreative, and while he put up a really, really tough, good fight against Kotetsu whenever they sparred at the gym, even though he won most of the times, it was still so, so, _so_ different. They both held back, obviously, never aiming to hurt for real, and it was all sporty martial arts. This place, these people, this scenario and this kind of fighting was _way_ too different. These people, particularly, they were a menace to a guy like Izumo. Because that pretty face and his overall behavior spoke of a guy that was not from the neighborhood, which was bad enough on its own. But if they saw him fight, and realized that this guy was not trained in the streets, and that he moved like an educated professional, they would eat him alive. Shit. Shit. What was he thinking when he came here!?

After a moment frozen in shock, not sure how to react or which of his feelings was greater, Kotetsu could just hesitatingly frown at him. Then, he shook the head.  
“Nah” he muttered. “I’m not doing this.”  
“Why, you scared?” he heard Izumo ask after Kotetsu had turned around to leave. Having his anger poked, Kotetsu rolled the eyes and sighed, and turned back to face him. Izumo raised a sassy eyebrow at him and gestured with his hands to get closer. “Come on. You _bitch.”_  
“Grow up, will you?” Kotetsu asked, avoiding his name purposefully so people wouldn’t know they knew each other, or at least not that well. He thought about turning around and leaving, but he wasn’t sure Izumo would follow, and he didn’t want to leave him here, so he went straight to him instead. Izumo instantly got on the defensive again, but Kotetsu just reached to grab his arm and tried pulling him with him to take him outside. 

However, only two steps away, Izumo roughly broke free from his grip, Kotetsu turned around to nag him-  
And Izumo slapped him. 

There were some teases and chuckles from the crowd, but Kotetsu heard none of that. For a while, seconds turned to minutes as he stood paralyzed in his spot, head still turning slightly to a side, and just feeling the tingling on his cheek.  
This was…this was the first time Izumo hit him for real, ever, in all twenty years of friendship…

Absentmindedly touching his cheek, Kotetsu stayed still for a while more. Honestly it hadn’t hurt that much, it had been more of a gesture or message than an attack. But it was precisely why it was so shocking. Izumo had never dared touch him like this. Still shocked, Kotetsu finally looked back at him with the thousand questions clear in his face. Izumo just frowned more.  
“What? Don’t be a crybaby about being hit, it’s a fucking fight ring” Izumo sassed him. Kotetsu raised his eyebrows at him, but Izumo just tilted the head proudly, daring. 

Kotetsu kept staring for a while, eyes wide in shock, and soon enough with a raising anger that did but keep growing more and more. Izumo…Izumo!? Izumo dared follow him, dared take up on being his opponent in this underground fighting thing, just to what? To prove a point? Just to annoy him? Just to…have an excuse to actually, for real, injure him? Izumo really wanted to fight him, for real, do harm? And he dared speak like this and he dared…everything.  
“Come on, baby boy” Izumo said threateningly. “Ten thousand if you hit me.”  
The sarcasm in his voice made Kotetsu’s stomach shrink and his blood boil. For a moment, Kotetsu had considered turning around and just leave.  
But, you know what? Izumo was asking for it. 

Kotetsu had had enough, too. He had tried to make things right multiple times, Izumo just went aggressive on him. He had tried to explain, Izumo didn’t let him. And all that Izumo had done was insult him, yell at him, be mean, and make things worse, almost on purpose.  
He was kind of asking for a lesson. Kotetsu didn’t drag him into the fight; Izumo was dragging _him_ into it.  
So a fight he would have.

Shock being replaced by mere flaming anger, Kotetsu growled under his breath, teeth showing like an angry animal about to throw a bite, and he took up on a defensive position as well, much more street fighting like than Izumo’s scholastic stance.

The crowd was cheering as usual, laughing or insulting, cursing or cheering, and throwing all kinds of bets in. None of which neither of them heard. This was not about the bets.  
After a moment just glaring at each other, finally, they moved.

Kotetsu was first to try to land a hit, going for a kick that he had hoped was unexpected as fights normally started with punches, but Izumo moved back on time. Kotetsu followed his same failed movement, using it to turn on his heel and threw a second kick, which Izumo still dodged just barely. Izumo tried to throw a punch through the opening, but Kotetsu blocked with an elbow, tried smacking, Izumo moved away, and the two engaged in a series of arm blocking and attempts of punches, block, punch, block, punch like they only did at fight practice, but faster, harder, definitely in a much more desperate attempt to land a hit. For once, fighting with Izumo was no fun.

After a while moving back and blocking Izumo’s punches, Izumo threw a punch aimed at Kotetsu’s ribs, Kotetsu leaned to that side to block- and Izumo landed a kick on his vulnerable side. Not letting that discourage him, Kotetsu just barely hissed and continued moving like it hadn’t happened, blocked twice, tried an opening, Izumo misled his arm with one of his-  
And for the first time in his life, Kotetsu hit him.  
Taking the opening, Kotetsu used his left arm to throw a punch right on Izumo’s jaw.

Kotetsu took the moment as Izumo stumbled back to try to digest the information and the shock of what he just did. It had felt _so wrong._ Not even as angry as he was, and boy was he angry, did it give him any satisfaction. He had just hit Izumo. Izumo his buddy that he had apologized to for forehead flicks and friendly shoves when it got ‘out of hand’. Kotetsu looked at his knuckles, hating the tickles of guilt that seemed to spread all across his arm like a virus, then back up at Izumo, who was approaching him again. At least Izumo had just slapped him and the kick hadn’t been that hard, but he just hit Izumo with a fist and-  
Reacting by reflex, Kotetsu stumbled back and blocked as Izumo threw a punch, another, another, and landed a hard one on Kotetu’s side.

It was hard enough to make him groan out and stumble away. More shocked than hurt, Kotetsu gave him wide eyes and a gaping mouth. Surely Izumo regretted that like he had regretted his, right? But no matter how long he stared, Izumo just gave him angry eyes made of scorching cold, heartless, and didn’t even give him time, he just…like he didn’t fucking _care_ about punching Kotetsu for the first time, he just went and tried again. 

Kotetsu could do but move back, startled. The crowd had to move along to open the path for them as Izumo chased and Kotetsu kept dodging and moving back. At some point, Kotetsu dodged to a side and rolled to circle Izumo, threw a kick to his back, and made him stumble forwards into the crowd, who caught him with yelps, and shoved him back to the ring. Izumo stumbled and fell backwards, but in the same movement he pulled out one of his flashy movements that made Kotetsu marvel at the gym; using the impulse of falling back, he rolled backwards, put the palms on the ground as if to propel himself upwards, but just used the ankles to lock Kotetsu’s neck. Knowing the lock, Kotetsu hurried and grabbed his ankles and twisted him around, not letting him get to the step of throwing Kotetsu face-first into the ground.

Angry that Izumo had dared slap him, kick him, punch him with no regret, and now confirming that he really was aiming to hurt, for real, no guilt after trying to pull out one of his aggressive, professional locks on him, Kotetsu dragged him on the ground as soon as he had turned him around, got on him, and threw another punch that made the crowd and Izumo groan.  
Kotetsu didn’t even have time to feel guilt, Izumo grabbed him by the shirt’s chest and pulled him down, smacking his forehead into Kotetsu’s. Both moved away with a loud groan, the crowd only teasing louder and joining in the groans of pain. To Kotetsu’s bad luck, Izumo recovered first, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him down, and starting to bring the legs up to try another lock. Kotetsu struggled and tried to think rationally to break free from it, ending up just squirming and trying to press down on Izumo’s head and arms. 

After some struggle and just as Izumo had gotten to hook a leg on one of Kotetsu’s shoulders, clearly aiming for a neck lock with his thighs, Kotetsu managed to break free just enough to roll them around, struggled, and shoved Izumo off him. Before he could get to pin him down again, Izumo rolled away and stood back, and tried attacking again. Kotetsu blocked as he stood up, stepping back, and taking an opening to land two punches that made Izumo pull back, block, and land one back. The crowd kept cheering and throwing bets in like usual but, to be honest, Kotetsu didn’t even hear any of that. His entire focus was on Izumo and his own anger that drove his every movement, having long ago forgotten without noticing all the guilt and regret, and just going in with the full want of hurting and winning.

Izumo went in completely aggressive, so Kotetsu just tried to block and dodge for a while, trying to think what to do. This was unfair; he had already fought other four guys, he was not in his hundred percent, whereas Izumo had started clean and rested. They were already so tied in a normal state, and sometimes Kotetsu dared think, genuinely and not as a compliment, that really Izumo was better than him, not because he was stronger, but because he was smarter. He was stupidly intelligent and he used that in combat training, too, so while Kotetsu would probably overpower him in strength, Izumo would outsmart him and need less strength, less movements, and probably less effort to win somehow. Rested and intelligent, and he was so fucking angry right now. Shit. Shit.

Kotetsu tried to aim to pin him down as fast as possible to end this shit. The longer they went, the more tired he would be and the more a vantage Izumo would have.  
So, after a bit more of dodging, Kotetsu went in, threw a few hits that Izumo blocked or set away, and Izumo responded. Punch, block, kick, dodge, the two struggled and fought frantically, as best as they could, ending up in a matched mess of blocking and dodging and an equal amount of landed hits. Kotetsu managed to hit him twice in the tummy and landed a kick on his side, whereas Izumo had gotten to kick him twice and landed a hit on his face. 

After a good while punching each other, Izumo managed to use Kotetsu’s own movements to his favor, and somehow ended up adjusting him so he could pick Kotetsu up, and tried throwing him down, but, well acquainted with that movement, Kotetsu, as he fell, locked Izumo back, pulling him down and landing safely, aiming to throw Izumo down, but Izumo, all too acquainted as well, followed the flow of the multi-throwing and landed safe, rolling away. The two stood back up and ran to each other again, grabbing each other’s hit in a hand and struggling with brute strength, glaring and growling at each other. After a moment, Izumo tried to outsmart him, seeing he was going to be overpowered in strength, by a sudden movement pulling a hand back, making Kotetsu stumble forwards as he still held Izumo’s fist in his hand, and as he stumbled, Izumo moved aside just enough and elbowed him as hard as he could on his back, throwing Kotetsu down- not expecting as Kotetsu, as soon as he touched the ground, grabbed one of his ankles and twisted it; Izumo tried to stay on his feet, but Kotetsu threw a kick up and made him fall down, hurrying to get on top of him.

Izumo recovered too fast, throwing himself at Kotetsu and getting onto him for a moment, but Kotetsu, legs folded up, put his soles on Izumo’s tummy and, faster than Izumo could anticipate, kicked him off him; Izumo staggered but managed to stay on his feet, and Kotetsu used the impulse to jump onto his feet as well, borught his fists up, spat, and received Izumo as he crashed into him with a new attempt at punching, the two engaging once more into a chain of mutual block and hit, moving all around the area and beyond, all around the empty warehouse, the crowd having to hurry to open the path for them as they blindly fought like the world’s fate depended on them, punching, kicking, throwing each other backwards and away, counter-attacking each and every hit in a never-ending series.

Witnessing one of the longest and more tied matches so far, the crowd kept cheering and throwing their bets in, laughing and cheering and teasing, and even though none Izumo or Kotetsu were paying attention to any word, it only served to fuel their anger whenever they heard the crowd laugh or cheer when the other landed a hit. Suddenly, the two entered a chain of counterattack after counterattack; Kotetsu threw a kick, Izumo blocked, grabbed his ankle and tried turning him around, Kotetsu took the impulse to turn by himself, freeing his leg, tried tackling him, Izumo received him and lifted him up ready to throw him back down, Kotetsu took the impulse to push harder against Izumo, turned the lock against him, the two fell down, Izumo in Kotetsu’s lock, turned around, Kotetsu in Izumo’s lock, and turned around struggling for dominance in a mess of limbs and pushing and pulling. 

After a good while on the ground, Izumo pushed against Kotetsu, who had been on top of him, until Kotetsu hit the ground and Izumo got the upper hand, and he threw a hit to his face, then another, Kotetsu stopped his hand when he tried to land the third and twisted his arm hard enough to make Izumo groan and drop half on the impulse and half out of pain to a side, Kotetsu tried to get on him, Izumo locked an ankle at his neck and pushed him away, Kotetsu tried to grab his fucking legs that Izumo mastered so fucking annoyingly, got kicked in the face, turned Izumo around, threw himself at his neck and locked him, wrapping his arm around Izumo’s neck and pulling up until Izumo was gagging and not breathing, a hand gripping Kotetsu’s wrist so hard he was digging his nails in the skin. 

The crowd cheered loudly as Kotetsu tightened his arm around his throat and choked him. Izumo, while patting the ground and gagging, blindly looked with a hand until he found Kotetsu’s hair, and he pulled from it hard enough to make Kotetsu hiss and complain out loud, and, taking the distraction, Izumo pulled harder and harder until pulling Kotetsu forwards trying to make him roll, broke free from the lock, and finished pushing Kotetsu off him, hurrying to get away and stand back up. Kotetsu lost no time either, standing back up and facing him. Izumo tried approaching him again. They engaged in a short exchange of hit and block, and then, Izumo tried another kick; Kotetsu got a hold of his leg, threw a kick to one of his ankles, and managed to throw Izumo down- except, mid air as he fell, Izumo threw the other foot up, and kicked Kotetsu sharply on the face.

Izumo hit the ground before Kotetsu, who stumbled back a few steps before falling. The crowd was hysterical at this point, some impatient to get a winner, most hyped at the brutal match, and a good portion really just cheering for that master, unexpected kick.  
The two stayed down on the ground for a moment, recovering. Kotetsu reached for his face, hot like hell, and spat out some blood into a hand. He stared at it in disbelief…and mostly anger.  
Angrier than before, Kotetsu sat up and looked over at Izumo, who was just pulling up again as well. He too was bleeding, had been for a while, from an eyebrow and his nose, and he was quite a bit bruised, hair messed up. Kotetsu could do but wonder what he looked himself, if as messed as his…so called ‘friend’. 

This so called friend seemed breathless and trying to conceal it, but not helping the shake of his arms and thighs as he pulled up. Kotetsu didn’t really feel like that was a vantage. He, too, was exhausted already, and aching. But there was no way he was going to let Izumo win this. He was already too proud, too stubborn, and too aggressive to get away with this, too.  
Izumo frowned and glared at him for a moment, so Kotetsu just glared back as full of hatred as Izumo conveyed. At the same time, the two stood up, but stayed still for a moment, almost as if ready to give up. 

However, the two put their fists up again, glared, waited, and went in again.  
The second half of the match was much shorter and the outcome felt tragic to Kotetsu. 

For a while, it was but like in a beginning, just the two measuring each other and trying to find an opening, but just entering a never ending chain of counterattacks from their tied, equal skills. Punches that were blocked, dodges that were counterattacked, and hits exchanged here and there. Izumo insisted with kicks, be them tiptoeing trying to hook Kotetsu’s ankle to throw him down, or proper kicks. Kotetsu, all too acknowledged with Izumo’s leg attacks, dodged and blocked most, avoided all attempts of being thrown down but unable to stop a few kicks to his sides. Kotetsu wasn’t sure what to aim for anymore, and that slight hesitation was the beginning of his defeat.

Staying on the defensive while trying to come up with a plan, Kotetsu stayed behind on the aggressive role, and Izumo took advantage of that. He insisted, followed Kotetsu, tried to make him walk back closer to a wall, the crowd moving along with them, as he threw punch after punch and kick after kick. Kotetsu though about letting him go on like that until he tired and then figure his way into an opening, but Izumo only became faster and more aggressive, landing more successful hits on an already tired and startled Kotetsu.  
Deciding to not let him win and panicking at the realization that Izumo was getting a clear upper hand, Kotetsu dodged once, squat enough to dodge again, and went into an opening, landing a series of punches on Izumo across his face, chest and tummy. Izumo moved back until he found a counter-opening and blocked, blocked, blocked and got a hold of Kotetsu’s arm; he twisted it, Kotetsu tried to ignore the sharp pain and tried throwing in a kick, Izumo let go of his arm and half-blocked the kick only, he turned over himself while Kotetsu recovered, threw himself in, and hit Kotetsu so hard in the stomach, Kotetsu bent in half.

Without thinking, Izumo grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him back, and so, before Kotetsu could recover and as he stumbled back, Izumo started the end: he punched Kotetsu in the face once, twice, three times, he threw a fourth punch, Kotetsu staggered backwards with each hit, he was startled enough and vulnerable, Izumo turned over one of his heels, threw a wheel kick towards Kotetsu…  
For a single moment, for one split moment, too short to be counted in a second, as Izumo’s final kick was going in, they made eye contact…  
Izumo didn’t measure his kick correctly and failed.

Not thinking, on adrenaline, in desperation and instinct, Kotetsu saw and took the opening; faster than he could think, he tackled Izumo hard enough to knock the air out of him, didn’t stop there, picked him up and kept running for a second or two, and half tackled half tossed him violently into a pile of cardboard boxes that were sent flying in the air and showered all around. 

In the same rush of desperate impulse, Kotetsu let go and pulled away, stumbling back and barely managing to stay on his feet, and so, he froze. Shaking and breathing heavily and shakily, Kotetsu stood petrified in his spot, the crowd cheering and laughing like he hadn’t heard them before, but unable to process any of that. As the rush of adrenaline eased little by little, he tried to process what had just happened, tried to understand how or why Izumo had failed the winning kick, tried to understand that he just fucking tackled his best friend like a savage, tried to just think anything, but he couldn’t. All he could do was stand there, trying to catch a breath, and watching the pile of boxes and what little he could see of Izumo, the legs dangling off some of the boxes, not moving, the rest of the body not appearing in sight.

After a good while, and as Kotetsu’s stomach started wrenching in worry, Izumo started moving. He sat up among the boxes, only enough. He wrapped an arm around his own belly and seemed to struggle with sitting up, pulling up but ending up whining and letting himelf drop against the boxes again, at least a little more upwards than before even if he still remained sprawled there. Powerless. Vulnerable. Defeated.  
Kotetsu stared at him, unable to react.  
Izumo, finally, looked up at him. He too was breathless, but, unlike Kotetsu, he didn’t seem any shocked. He just looked exhausted, and…still so _angry._

Izumo stared at Kotetsu with cold, empty eyes with not a trace of something but hatred.  
“Why stop here…fortune boy?” Izumo murmured condescendingly, breathless, just enough for Kotetsu to hear. With a bitter look and a deeper frown, Izumo said weakly, “Five million if you kill me…”

Kotetsu felt a pinch at the comment. It was fucking unbelievable, the distance Izumo had gone and tried to keep going just to prove a fucking point. His sarcasm, his horrible bitter sass, it was so…so…shameless and mean.  
Izumo was thrown in a pile of boxes, exhausted, trembling, hurt, bleeding from his nose and an eyebrow, an eye, a cheek and the forehead bruised, he was surrounded by not the best of people, he was so vulnerable right now, perfectly served for the worst things that could happen to him, Kotetsu felt a need to just…pull him up, maybe take him in arms, apologize even if only for the fight, ask him to go home where they were safe and together and where they could make things right in a right way.  
But Kotetsu didn’t. Still too proud and stubborn about Izumo being too proud and stubborn, Kotetsu still didn’t want to give in first. Not even after this. Even _less_ after this. 

Izumo had gone too far. Kotetsu had never wanted to fight, Izumo dragged him into it. He landed the first hit, and the second. It was not Kotetsu’s fault and he had no reason to apologize, or want to. 

So he just stared at Izumo while trying to decide, before just shaking his head, turning around, and leaving him in that poor state among the stupid boxes. Izumo glared harder and tried to move, but just flopped back onto the boxes.  
Meanwhile, some people in the crowd approached Kotetsu for a back pat or to ask things, but Kotetsu just scowled at everyone, shook the head and put a hand up like asking for silence. Not like they listened. He tried to make it through the crowd to leave, stopped only by some hands that reached out to give him money. He had forgotten about the whole bet system thing, to be honest, and he was sure there were so many who were playing dumb and not reaching out to pay, but he didn’t give a damn. He just absentmindedly grabbed whatever money they handed him, not even knowing what bets he fulfilled, kept going through the crowd, grabbed his nearly empty backpack where he only carried bottles of water and a tiny towel, and finally exited.

He didn’t stop at first. Having left Izumo behind, still bleeding and sweating, Kotetsu still didn’t stop for a good while and kept walking. He didn’t want Izumo to catch up with him, he didn’t want to be near him, didn’t want to see him walk past. He didn’t go for the bus stop immediately, going for the close neighborhood and to the docks, and stopped there. He tried calming down, tried to not let his head go places but his head went places, finally having left the adrenaline and initial shock and starting to process what had just happened.  
He hadn’t hit Izumo. He had fucking beat him up.

Kotetsu threw up. Mostly just spit, but he dry heaved for a good while, coughed, and cried a bit. He guessed they were tears from the effort of throwing up, but they still angered him, made him feel weak and stupid and frustrated and like a disaster. He spent a moment shaking and crying tears he didn’t want to cry, angry at himself, and trying to calm down. After he managed to stop crying, he spent a longer while than usual using the water and towel to clean himself up, partly feeling tired, partly because he was more injured than he was used to. There were places that weren’t bleeding but felt sensitive and burning to his touch. He was so used to fight people that either didn’t know how to fight, or that knew but weren’t as trained as he was, never a fair, tied match. Never Izumo.  
Good god, he had just fucking beat Izumo up. 

Kotetsu still spent a few hours outside, sat by the dock, not sure how he felt, not sure what he was thinking. He knew this was bad, too bad, things didn’t have to get to this, he knew he _had_ to apologize to Izumo. But a fight didn’t involve only one; Izumo had beat him up, too. Sure, he had not won, but he still beat Kotetsu up just as bad, had tried to fucking slam his head face-first into the ground in his most dangerous, actually threatening move. That could have fucking killed him and Izumo had still tried it. Kotetsu had stopped him only by reflex because he knew that movement, but he could have reacted slower or not at all, and he knew it and he knew that Izumo knew it too, so why had he even dared try!?

Kotetsu was so fucking exhausted of this stupid quarrel with Izumo, he wanted to make things right with desperation that ached, but not if Izumo was not cooperating. Not if Izumo was actively working on making things worse. He dared not just follow him there but pick a fight, and a fight soc rude and so ugly and…  
God. What a fucking disaster. All that Kotetsu knew was that he was apologizing, but not first. 

Finally calm enough, Kotetsu decided to head home not expecting anything from Izumo, because all he had expected these past weeks had only proved that Izumo gave him the opposite of what he wanted and made things worse.  
When he got home, Izumo was still not there, despite the hours spent outside. Kotetsu guessed that was better, that way Izumo would have to be the one to make an approach when he got home.

Except he didn’t get home that night. Kotetsu still waited awake for longer than he had wanted, at first in bed, then going around checking in Izumo’s room in case he had magically appeared there, going for his cozy spot to look out the window and see if by coincidence Izumo was just a street cross away, waited at the living room, and once more in bed. Four in the morning came and Izumo still wasn’t home. 

Kotetsu thought about calling him, but his pride and anger didn’t let him. Despite his worry and the clear way he kept looking around the apartment for him, Kotetsu refused to call him, because that was probably what Izumo wanted. Knowing him, and knowing this new side of him, petty and hate-fueled, Izumo had probably just gone to his aunt’s or grandpa’s or a friend’s to spend the night to avoid Kotetsu, not told Kotetsu on purpose to make him worry, on purpose, and force him to give in first because he knew that Kotetsu would worry and call. So if that was the little shit’s plan, Kotetsu wasn’t going to please him. For all he cared, Izumo could sleep on that pile of boxes, come home whenever he fuck he wanted. He was an adult and didn’t need Kotetsu to nag him around and ask him where he was, he knew and he chose willingly and Kotetsu didn’t care. Tried not to care.

So Kotetsu went to bed, not knowing where Izumo was, not sure if he was coming home, and refusing to admit he cared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE  
> This chapter was so much fun to write but someone please stOP THESE MORONS, it physically pains me that they FIGHT, HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP
> 
> We're only a few chapters from ending, maybe 4, but this is as far as I could write before school started again & got really tough so you'll have to bear with me LOL
> 
> Accidental cliffhanger, OOPS.
> 
> (I actually have the next chapter ready, so it's not as accidental...lmao)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Kotetsu woke up with Izumo being the first thing in his head even before he was fully awake. He quickly blinked awake taking in a deep breath. He didn’t really feel like he rested at all. With Izumo still in his head and the heart a bit heavy, he carefully and fearfully checked the hallway and main room of the apartment, not sure he would be able to look Izumo in the eye. To both his relief but also fear, Izumo wasn’t there. Not even now that it was the morning after. Kotetsu tried thinking that maybe, because Izumo must have made it home so late, he was still asleep so he checked in his room but Izumo wasn’t there either. Kotetsu still looked around a bit but Izumo just wasn’t home.

Kotetsu checked his phone, in vain. No calls or texts, he couldn’t even see what time Izumo’s last connection had been. No way to know where he was, like, at all. With a sigh, Kotetsu decided to stop worrying as much as he was, nagged himself for it, and pretended not worry too much and went for the bathroom. His whole body was sore like hell and he ached in so many places. He had been so upset last night that he hadn’t checked himself, so he went into the bathroom to check the mirror.  
He had a bruised, scratched forehead, and one of his cheeks was slightly swollen and reddish. He had a dark spot on his jaw, and he had dry blood near an ear, and a dark-bruised eye. He felt his stomach wrench at the sight. It wasn’t like he had never seen himself beaten up, high school was a bad stage for him, but…the fact that it had been Izumo who did this was…well. Not pleasant. It was really bitter. It was an atrocity, to be honest. 

While Kotetsu kept checking himself, he heard some yelling in the hallway outside. At first he ignored it, but the voices became louder and it was clear it was more like an argument. He thought about letting it slide, he was too busy to solve a neighbor conflict, but he thought he recognized some voices that made him pull the head up and made his heart skip a bit.  
Praying that it wasn’t what he thought it was, Kotetsu left the bathroom and went into the main area, and watched the door like fearing the devil would walk through it just as the yelling grew loud enough to be right outside. Heart speeding, Kotetsu stared at the door a bit petrified, told himself that it couldn’t be possible so he probably had nothing to worry about, but the door slammed open.

“-don’t wanna go inside, I’m telling you I’m not going there-! I don’t want- No! Let me go-!”  
“Stop resisting!”  
“-can’t force me, I don’t wanna go there, let me go!! Iruka!!”

With a few neighbors having a curious look, the devil himself Iruka stood outside his apartment, made a furious demon, struggling with a very stubborn Izumo that, like a child, had basically sat on the floor trying to use his weight to break free from Iruka’s grip on his arm, with no luck, as the two argued. Well, mostly as Izumo argued alone, Iruka just…did as usual with that authoritarian, fierce look of his, and just kept pulling until he forced Izumo on his feet, grabbed him by the clothes, and shoved him into the apartment and slammed the door closed (no neighbor intervening because they were already acquainted with “the one scary friend of those two guys down the hall that seems like a serial killer when he’s angry but turns out he’s just a super scary Dad friend nagging them, don’t call the police, it’s ok”). 

Kotetsu panicked as soon as he saw Iruka at the door, flinching in place and then stepping back like he was seeing a murderer, trying to look around for an escape route as Iruka shoved Izumo into the apartment, slammed the door closed. All at the same time, Iruka didn’t give Izumo any time as he was recovering when he already had him in his grip again, and Kotetsu ran to Izumo’s room to go for the window and try to escape.  
“Kotetsu!!” Iruka roared out like a possessed wraith as he dragged and shoved Izumo onto the couch, making him fall on it, while he ran after Kotetsu.

Izumo rolled at the time he hit the couch to drop on the floor, dumbly stood back up and started running for the door just as Kotetsu yelped out loud and was shoved into the living room area, Iruka let go, chased Izumo, grabbed him, dragged him back and tossed him to the living room again, grabbed Kotetsu as he tried escaping again, both Izumo and Kotetsu yelling for mercy, to let go, to stop, and as Iruka juggled them almost effortlessly until he managed to get both in his grip, dragged them to the living room, and tossed them both on the same couch. Izumo and Kotetsu immediately tried recovering and giving in to just sit, knowing they wouldn’t be able to escape the wrath of Iruka, sighing in defeat, and shoving each other away out of pettiness when they realized they were sat at a normal distance instead of a mile away.

“Wow, Izumo, from among all people you could go to, you went to snitch to Iruka!?” Kotetsu complained, and before he could yell at him how that was a suicide to both, Izumo, with an angry sigh, yelled back.  
“I didn’t go to Iruka, I’m not an idiot!” Izumo looked away. “I went to Raidou” he huffed and muttered, “…who _then_ snitched on me to Iruka while I slept.”  
“Wow, so now it’s two close friends that know and not just the worst option you could have gone to!”  
“I didn’t go to Iruka, you deaf moron!” Izumo jumped back on him. “Like you haven’t told someone pinning the blame on me like always!”  
“What are you talking about, it’s you who always-!”  
 _“Shut_ the fuck _up!!!!”_

Iruka’s yell echoed through the entire apartment and sent a bolt through their entire nervous systems, making them keep quiet and curl up as if trying to back away from Iruka who stood in front of them, so angry he was slightly red in the face, frowning so hard it was a miracle his teeth weren’t breaking from the pressure of his jaw, and breathing like a beast trying to contain itself from eating them alive.   
“What the _fuck_ is wrong with you both!?” Iruka yelled at them.  
“What do you mean both!?” both yelled at the same time.  
“He’s the one that-”  
“He’s the one that’s wrong here because-”  
“-can’t blame me, what are you talking ab-”  
“-like a fucking moron, how am I to blame too-!?”  
 _“Shut up!!!”_

Once more, Izumo and Kotetsu shielded from Iruka behind their hands and arms.  
“Yes, I’m asking what’s wrong with both of you!” Iruka roared at them again.   
“What the hell do you mean, Iruka!?” Izumo dared interrupt again. “He’s the one that started all this mess and who keeps going to that stupid place! You can’t side with him!!”  
“Oh, so all the fault is mine but you’re a saint that definitely didn’t follow me there, asked for a fight, and _started_ it!”  
“At least I wasn’t the idiot that took _money_ after beating me, so shamelessly!”  
“At least I wasn’t the idiot that tried to fucking kill his best friend with that ankle lock!”  
“Kill!? Oh, please, Kotetsu, and _I_ am the drama prince!?”  
“Shut _up!!!”_

Izumo and Kotetsu still yelled a bit jumping in fear at Iruka’s yell that almost felt like a whirlwind trying to send them flying off. Finally, the two kept quiet and Iruka pointed at them.  
“You two are behaving ten times more immaturely, childishly, and stubbornly than my students” and with the loudest roar thundering through the building, he yelled at them, “And I teach _kindergarten!!!”_

Izumo and Kotetsu both sank further into the couch, looking everywhere else but each other or Iruka as they crossed their arms and pouted.   
“May I know why I get a phone call from Raidou, at eight a.m., telling me Izumo crashed at his place at two in the morning, badly beaten up like a thug assaulted him, tells me he told him that ‘he had a fight with Kotetsu’, and I come to your place to find Kotetsu equally beaten up!?” Iruka demanded in that authoritarian tone that made the other two forget he was younger and even used to be smaller in their teen ages. “You two have lost your fucking minds, you’ve got to have gone _insane_ because I find no other explanation as to why _you_ got to this point! I could believe this from any other pair of friends or couples, but you two!?”

None of them replied and just kept pouting and frowning, not making eye contact. Iruka pointed his finger at Kotetsu.  
“You!” he yelled. “Why the _fuck_ are you still going to that underground fighting thing, Kotetsu!? I thought it was fucking common sense, what the fuck are you doing!?” and just as Izumo was opening his mouth ready to go at Kotetsu as well, Iruka shot him a glare and pointed his accusatory finger at him. “And you!” Izumo flinched and stared at him in terror. “What the _fuck_ were you thinking following him there and actively, on purpose, willingly daring him to a fucking _fight!?”_ Iruka put his finger down and stomped a foot as he threw another question. “And what the fuck is wrong with you both to _actually_ fight!?”

None replied to his questions.   
“Are you not seeing yourselves!?” Iruka asked with a taint of shock in his voice, almost as great as his anger. “Black eyes and bruises and scrapes that you two did to each other! _What_ universe are we living on that you did this to each other!? You guys had never, not once, even raised a finger at each other and out of nowhere you come home like _this!?”_ he paused to let the questions sink in. “Explain yourselves!”

For a moment, neither did more than just shift uncomfortable in their seats, until finally Kotetsu turned to Iruka.  
“I’m going to tell you what happened.”  
“Wh- no! Why does he get to go first, it’s going to make me sound biased and like a liar when it’s my turn!”  
“Shut up, Izumo!” Iruka snapped at him, then put his attention on Kotetsu and gave him a slightly sarcastic nod. “I’m listening.”

Kotetsu gave Izumo a quick bad look, like trying to measure he wasn’t going to jump on him. Izumo glared at him and then looked away in a snap.  
“So after Izumo found out about this whole mess, he didn’t _once_ give me a chance to redeem myself” Kotetsu explain, and as soon as Izumo huffed sarcastically, Iruka smacked him on the head, made him yelp out loud ready to complain, but said nothing. Oh, the power of Iruka. “I tried to talk things with him but he said ‘You know what, it’s too late and I don’t wanna talk about this’ so he just let it hang there, right? So the next days I try to talk it with him, like a mature adult, but all he does is yell at me and call me a brainless idiot, so, not going to lie, I’m just human, I get heated up and angry, and I mean, naturally, so I argue back. The thing here is not who’s a saint because we’re both just annoyed guys, but there _is_ some blame on the fact that I tried, and I tried more than once, to approach Izumo, ready to surrender, really wanting to just make things right with him whatever it would take, I was first to approach him while he sulked and made a drama out of this, and he rejected all my attempts and just took up on insulting me.”

Izumo muttered unintelligibly, earning him a lighter smack that made him growl out in frustration and put the head back, hiding his eyes in his hands.  
“So what happened last night was, I went out to the fight warehouse because I really don’t see what’s so wrong about it when everything’s consensual and I’m a great fighter, but that’s a side conversation” Izumo snorted and was smacked yet again. “So he doesn’t even look my way, he’s been ignoring me for like a week or two, I swear to god, he doesn’t even acknowledge me, so I just leave the apartment. I get to the warehouse, I fight a couple guys, and then out of fucking nowhere, having followed me or something, Izumo pops up from the crowd and he’s like “I’ll fight him” and I’m like, no, I’m not doing this, I literally said “no, I’m not doing this”, and he just looks at me and asks ‘Why, are you scared, bitch?’ like, I’m not even role-playing it, he called me a bitch” Kotetsu continued explaining. “And then I told him no again, that’s two times I refuse, and I grab him to take him out of there so we can talk things, once _again_ I’m the one that has to take the lead, take the first step in approaching this in a mature way and make things right, but he snaps away, and when I turn around to tell him to go outside, he just…he fucking _slaps_ me, Iruka! Like, dead-ass, not like the smacks you’re giving him right now, he fucking slapped me like he hates me!”

Izumo seemed about to grumble, but a glare from Iruka and he just pouted harder and looked away.  
“So I get angry and I mean, of course I do! I tried so many times to talk with him but he keeps acting this way, and now he slaps me and teases me into fighting him?” Kotetsu continued. “So not going to lie, I did accept the fight, but I still stayed on the defensive just waiting and Izumo fucking kicked me first, so how wasn’t I going to get angry for real!?” he sighed. “So yes, I fought him, I hit him and I did all that” he said as he pointed at Izumo’s face, Izumo responding by smacking his hand away. “But that’s because he provoked me into it, on purpose, after behaving so aggressively for so many days, how else did you expect me to react!? Besides, at least at first I was just planning to pin him down safely, but he fucking…he nearly uses the one ankle lock, the one where the ankles go…” he gestured with the hands. “Around the neck and then you get fucking launched into the ground, you tell me if that wasn’t almost crossing the line hadn’t I reacted in time!”

“Okay, enough from you” Iruka said much calmer than before but clearly still heated, turning his attention to the other. “Izumo.”  
“I mean, I wouldn’t have picked a fight on him if he had never been the one to start all this fight mess in the first place!” Izumo yelled out loud, pointing at him and Kotetsu smacking his hand like he had done to him before. “Iruka, you and I know and literally anyone else would know too without even needing to _think_ that Kotetsu’s the one being a fucking dickhead” Iruka smacked him again. “Ow!! But what was that for, it’s my turn to talk!”  
“Because you’re insulting when there’s no need for that!”  
“Fine!” Izumo yelled back. “But you know it’s true, there’s no other way to word how he’s behaving. He’s literally stupid-ing his way into breaking our lifelong friendship, _literally_ stupid-ing his way through it and he’s mastering it!”

Kotetsu had started complaining about something, but it just earned him an Iruka smack of no interrupting.  
“Iruka, I tried to tell him!” Izumo yelled. “You know I tried! I already told you when we spoke and what we spoke, and he still didn’t listen! Not once! What else was I supposed to do!?” Kotetsu could only assume he had been more or less updating Iruka through texts or something. They were normally each other’s confidant for almost everything. “I nagged him many times, I tried talking him out of it-”  
“More like yelling- Ow!”  
“-I tried to approach him through I don’t want you to be hurt, that didn’t work, so I tried through I really, really don’t want you to be hurt or dead, but that didn’t work either because apparently I care about his wellbeing on a two hundred percent where a hundred percent is mine, and the other hundred percent is the one that’s supposed to be his but he doesn’t have it so I have to carry it too!” 

Kotetsu sighed and rolled the eyes, looking away and shaking the head.  
“So then I tried through every other argument that I didn’t think would be necessary because it’s literally just common sense, but “that’s another story”” he mocked and Iruka just gave him a warning look. “I tried talking him out of it because of his safety, he didn’t listen, then I told him the money didn’t matter, he didn’t listen, then I told him over and over and over that I just wanted him to be safe and stop unnecessarily endangering himself for literally no reason, but he didn’t listen to me, not fucking once! And then I tried telling him it was unethical and all he said was ‘But what should we care?’ What should we care, Iruka! Like he doesn’t give a damn he’s illegally injuring people for fucking money!”

Kotetsu tried interrupting, apparently not having learned a thing, and Iruka smacked him as soon as he did to shut him up.   
“And then I insisted on worrying over his wellbeing, and you know what he did?” Izumo continued. “He just called me a privileged kid like that’s got anything to do with it, said I’m a drama prince, and said I had a better life than him because I had both parents while he only had mom. Like, way to project himself on me, pretty ironic for a therapist if you ask me, and then- and then you know what he said? He called me a fucking… _hypocrite,_ Iruka, a fucking-” he sighed in exasperation as he passed his hands through his face. “I’m not even going to say that again! Can you believe it!? I’ve been giving him all of me since age fucking _five_ because when I met him I thought he was the coolest and nicest person in the world, all I did was tell him I just worried for his wellbeing, and I get called a hypocrite!?” 

After sighing again and trying to not deviate from the matter, Izumo looked away and went on.  
“So yes, I did go there to challenge him to a fight, and yes, it was partly because I’m so fucking tired of this idiot being irrational and so fucking petty. I was angry, still am, okay? I’m just a guy that’s on the losing, frustrated side of this, so I’m angry and he keeps adding to it with his stupid pettiness, so it was partly to really slap him, but I just wanted one slap!” he looked at Iruka again, and while angry, he seemed sincere. “But then I kept going because how else was I supposed to talk him out of this!?”  
“Oh, so you tried fighting me to talk me out of fighting.”  
“Iruka!”  
A smack.  
“Ow!”

Izumo kept glaring at him for a moment before looking at Iruka again.  
“I understood that he could fight strangers without feeling guilt, so I tried to see if he’d fight his fucking best friend for money, and he did!” Izumo pointed at him. “For fucking money!”  
“But you offered it to me! You literally _asked_ me to fight you!” a smack. “Iruka, that was a needed intervention!” smack. “Iruka!!”  
“He’s right, though, Izumo” Iruka glared at his friend.   
“Yes, okay, I provoked him, but that’s fine, I did want to fight him to prove my point” Izumo continued. “I tried to nag him in a way so he could understand that everyone he fights is someone else’s Izumo, but he wouldn’t understand, so I had to make him face _the_ Izumo” he turned to glare at Kotetsu again. “I fought him so he understood that those people aren’t just random…NPCs that spawn in that warehouse, tried to make him feel empathy, to make him think that all those guys have a home and that they get injured too, and I fought him so that he’d think about what if our roles were switched or if it hadn’t been him who was fighting me!”

Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitched in confusion. Izumo paused for a bit, in which he did but scowl and look away, not making eye contact with either.   
“I tried to make him think it wasn’t him I was fighting, that it could’ve been anyone else tackling me into a pile of boxes” Izumo muttered. “I wanted him to understand how wrong it is, Iruka. I wanted him to understand that the people he hurts are real, tried to make him think what it would be like if he had been me, and someone else had just…left him there beaten up in a pile of boxes, not coming him. That just like he didn’t hold back, no one would, and so maybe if he thought about it that way, he could understand how _I_ feel every single fucking time he goes out there!” he turned again and pointed at Kotetsu with an accusing finger. “Every single fucking time, because I don’t know when you’ll face someone that won’t hold back like we did!”  
“You didn’t hold back!” Kotetsu accused, but it earned him a smack again.  
“But did any of that work!?” Izumo yelled. “Of course it didn’t! Because above empathy or self care or his own best friend of almost all life, there’s fucking _money!”_

Kotetsu started saying something and Izumo wasted no time in facing him and start arguing back, the voices overlapping in a mess that was only eased when Iruka smacked the two at the same time hard enough for them to yelp out and get quiet.  
“Okay, I think I’ve heard enough and I have a conclusion” Iruka said apparently calm at first, until he yelled, “which is that you both are fucking _morons!”_

Both Izumo and Kotetsu just looked other ways, shaking the head or crossing the arms each.  
“Above money, or above proving a point, it doesn’t matter!!” Iruka said like he meant to sound angry, but the shock made him breathless as he spoke. “You beat each other up!” he let a pause grow as if to let that information sink. For a moment, he saw hesitation in both friends, but a greater pride that didn’t allow them to lower the guard fully. It only served to make Iruka’s shock greater as he opened his mouth and gasped. “Beat each other up! The Kotetsu-Izumo duo, the unbreakable two…you beat each other up! Whatever the situation, how could you let anything be greater than the lo- than the…bond you have!?”

The two still stayed silent, not looking at each other or at Iruka, pouting and refusing to give in. Iruka eyed them for a while before sighing and leaving for the kitchen. None said a thing as he brought back tiny bags with ice for each of them, that Izumo pressed to his eye and Kotetsu to his cheek, both hissing as quietly as they could. Even a good while into holding the bags they still hadn’t said a thing. Iruka kept eyeing them all the time, like not even trying to come up with an answer, just trying to process whatever the hell was happening. The longer he stared, the less Izumo and Kotetsu looked the slightest in each other’s way. Iruka could only blink in the worst kind of fascination he had experienced in his life.

“I don’t even know what to tell you guys this time” Iruka admitted almost breathless. “I was prepared for literally anything in this world, a zombie invasion included, alien visitors, the end of the world! But Izumo and Kotetsu _fighting_? To the point of a literal fight?” Iruka sighed shortly and shook the head. “That doesn’t even make sense. It’s not logical.”

He noticed both guys’ frowns softening and hesitating, but not even then they looked at each other or him. He eyed them both for a while, still trying to comprehend. Kotetsu and his bruised, scrapped forehead, the swollen cheek, the bruise at his jaw, and that was only what he could see. Izumo, not better, maybe a little bit worse, with a reddish, bruised eye, a bruised forehead, a scrapped temple and cheek, and this dark mark at his throat like he had been choked. And to believe…to even try to grasp the idea that it had been each other’s hands that did all of that…  
…wow. 

After a while, feeling a weird sensation of sadness, Iruka sighed and shook the head as he sat down on the little table behind him.  
“You know what, this is beyond what I can do” he admitted. With some surprise clear from both, Izumo’s and Kotetsu’s faces changed from their anger to surprise as they looked at him in silence. “Your…friendship’s always been something beyond anyone’s comprehension, even your own. And just like no one could get in between it, so can’t I get in between its rupture. It’s a You problem and I can’t find a way to help this time. You both can prove your points to me as hard as you want, convince me to side with one or the other, I can try talking with both of you as thoroughly and exhaustively as you want, but this is something you have to figure out completely by yourselves, because…the problems I had helped with, they were small, ridiculous in comparison. They were always little bumps in the road, never a…giant rupture in the way.”

Both Izumo and Kotetsu stared at him with clear worry, but none said a word despite the pause in between.  
“I could force you to apologize to each other, but it won’t change a thing” Iruka continued. “I think that you two need to work it out together without anyone in between, I just can’t see how you two will do it. You’ve tried talking it and it seems to make it worse, you tried fighting it through, it made it worse, naturally” Iruka sighed and seemed to still think of something, just to end up shaking the head. “I don’t know. I don’t know, I really, really, really expected anything and everything from life, but never a rupture between you two. I don’t know. I’m lost.”

After a moment in silence thinking, Iruka sighed as if giving up and h e stood up from the little table, both guys’ eyes glued on him, almost seeming scared at the idea of Iruka leaving them to their own.  
“You need to work it out, now, and you better find a way that really does work out” Iruka told them firmly. “Whatever you do, you better fix this instead of keep making things worse. And whatever you do, however you do it, just…just keep it a priority that above money, or proving a point, or pride or anything, above literally anything, there’s your friendship. Above anything. And think very seriously if whatever point you want to prove or whatever fight you’re having is worth putting that friendship and all of what you guys are at risk.”

He gave them a careful look that swung between authoritarian and concerned. The guys stared at him for a moment before looking away once more, this time more like reprimanded puppies than angered, stubborn guys. Iruka still eyed them worriedly, not sure what to do, if staying made it worse, if leaving made it worse, nothing.   
“Just…” Iruka tried to think of something, but he could only sigh. “Just don’t beat each other up again. And call me if you’re about to. Okay?”

The two nodded but said nothing, just staying sat on the couch with the ice to their faces. Iruka gave them a last glance, trying to stay to come up with something, but giving up. With a last sigh and a head shake, he left the apartment quietly.

Kotetsu and Izumo were left alone in complete silence, and neither looked at each other in a good while, even if they didn’t move from their spot on the couch. Each kept tending to their own wounds, moving the ice quietly across their faces, ignoring each other. After a while, Kotetsu was first to stand up, the ice having melted in the bag, so he went to leave it in the sink.  
“There was no need to get our friends involved in this” Kotetsu grumbled loud enough for Izumo to hear. He got a sarcastic snort in response.  
“Iruka just told us to stop fighting and there you go, instantly as soon as he leaves” Izumo nagged. And then, instead of stopping like he was chiding Kotetsu about, he went on with the clear upcoming fight. “And it wasn’t like I wanted to get them involved, but what else was I supposed to do? I wasn’t going to go to my parents, or my grandparents, but I couldn’t spend the night in the sewers!”  
“If only you had a home, like, I don’t know, this apartment!” 

“Come back home here, where you would be?” Izumo snorted again. “You were the last person I wanted to see last night, thank you very much!”  
“But not come home at all, not even a text to at least let me know you were somewhere safe and sound?” Kotetsu approached the living room again, but didn’t sit down. Izumo looked up at him with his bruised eye and a frown. “You go pick a fight on me, try to injure me for real, and then disappear like it was me who started it instead of facing it like a man, look me to the eyes afterwards!?”  
“It’s not like it would’ve changed a god damn thing, Kotetsu!” Izumo yelled back. “You didn’t even try to call!”  
“Because I knew that the only reason you vanished without telling me was because you wanted me to text you first, and you insist you’re not making a drama? You’re literally admitting you wanted me to call first, that’s the only reason you went to Raidou in the first place!”  
“I went to his place because I had nowhere else to go, I thought he knew how to keep a secret, and I didn’t want to see _you!”_

Izumo stood up from the couch and faced Kotetsu, who took some more steps towards his friend, chin up.  
“What, you gonna fight me again?” Izumo growled once Kotetsu was close. Kotetsu clicked his tongue and gave him an angry look.  
“I never wanted to do that, and you know it” Kotetsu muttered. “You, however? Starting the fight, literally insisting until I gave in? What the fuck, Izumo, I thought we were friends, I know we aren’t in the best terms but go the distance as to…basically force me into fighting?”  
“Forcing you” Izumo rolled the eyes. “Like you didn’t enjoy beating the fuck out of me.”  
“Like you didn’t enjoy doing it back.”  
“I didn’t!”  
“So why did you start it so eagerly!?”   
“Because I was trying to prove my point and get you out of this street fighting mess, I already explained it!!”

“It seems to me more like you wanted an excuse to hit me” Kotetsu insisted. “You didn’t need to insult me or hit me like that to prove your goddamn point.”  
“But I’ve tried reasoning with you and you never listened-!”  
“No, _you_ never tried reasoning, _I_ tried reasoning and all you did was throw it all back in my face like an insult-!”  
“-again with all the- oh my god, Kotetsu, we’re fighting again!? Seriously!?”

But the question got lost as the two started arguing again, speaking at the same time and trying to get the other to keep quiet, unable to, trying to prove a point and only managing to make a mess.  
“Stop! Stop!” Izumo yelled after a while, shaking the head and hands. “Stop!” Kotetsu kept quiet. “We’re not figuring anything out, we’re just yelling at each other, right after Iruka told us not to!”  
“Oh, how long did it take you to figure that out, genius?” Kotetsu asked. “It’s what I’ve been telling you all this time! Why do you listen to Iruka but not me? Do you need me to yell at you like he does, smack you? Or should I take up on your ways and provoke you into a fight to prove my point?” he snarled. “So I’m the savage for taking up on consensual fights but you’re perfectly rational trying to prove your point by provoking me into beating each other up.”

“How else was I going to convince you to stop this madness!? I ran out of ways, it was my last resource!” Izumo tried to defend himself. “I thought it’d make you aware of what you’re doing if you fought someone dear to you, but it seems it only made it worse!”  
“Yes!?” Kotetsu exclaimed sarcastically. “I thought it was obvious it’d make it worse, you made me fight my best friend!”  
“So what are you going to do if the next person you fight is Iruka? Or Genma? You’re going to beat them up for money, too, like you beat me!? Is that how low your ethic is, you’d take up on fighting your close friends blindly, not giving a damn for their wellbeing, for your so precious money!?”  
“If the next person I see in the ring is Iruka or Genma, I’d do the same I did to you and say no, and they would understand, unlike you, what no means instead of forcing me into it!”  
“I forced you because I thought that it’d make you understand everything that’s morally wrong with this!”  
“Morally wrong!? And it’s not morally wrong to force me to beat my best friend up!?”

“And not even that stopped you from taking your stupid bets!”  
“I didn’t do it for the bets, I did it because you slapped me and insulted me and kicked me first!”  
“But then you didn’t stop even after I-” Izumo stopped there and sighed angrily. “It still doesn’t take away the fact that you accepted the money after leaving me there!”  
“What did you want me to do, take your hand, say ‘It’s ok, pal, we’re good’, and then walk away like it was nothing!?”  
“I mean, I knew you’d be angry, you had all rights to be, but taking the money!? That had nothing to do with this!”  
“So why does it anger you that I took it!?”

“Because that’s money you earned by beating your best friend up! That’s money that comes from this eye and this bruise and the blood on my towel and nearly fucking choking me, Kotetsu!” Izumo yelled. “That’s money that comes from pummeling my fucking face and from tackling the air out of me!” he put a threatening finger on Kotetsu’s chest. “So what’re you going to buy with that, huh? A new bike, a phone, a fucking game, a trip to the beach? Well, I’m _glad_ to know that whatever you get with it will make you happy and give you that…freedom and joy you so much want, I’m so glad nearly breaking my ribs and my face can give you so many _things_ that make you happy!”  
“What are you talking about!?” Kotetsu snapped at him. “I _am_ spending money on myself but it’s not all I do! You know very well I also use this for _your_ student debt, for my Ma’s needs, and for our friends, not just myself like a narcissistic little shit!”  
“Oh, forgive me for thinking so negatively about you, you’re right! Of course I can’t think negatively about someone that lied to his best friend for over three months, and sneaks out at night to go underground fighting to an illegal place with dangerous people to take advantage on non-trained people for _money!!”_  
“Why does money anger you so much, Izumo!? What’s so bad about it!?”  
“For the millionth time, it’s not the fucking money, Kotetsu, it’s how you get it and at what cost!!”

“But why is all of that so bad, what’s so bad when they agree to fight!?”  
“Because it’s not whether they agree or not, Kotetsu! It’s not them, it’s you!! You agree too and it’s precisely because you agree too that it’s so dangerous, you’re giving permission to people you don’t know and who won’t have empathy for you, like you don’t have it with those guys, it’s people that won’t see you as more than a random guy that randomly spawned there instead of the best friend that I want to have home every night, it’s people that could beat you up if you stumble upon someone that’s better at fighting than you-!”  
“I’m telling you that they never-”  
“-So what if the next trained person you fight is not me!?” Izumo yelled. “What if it’s someone much bigger, much stronger, much more skilled!? Huh!?”  
“Then I’ll just ask to stop the fight, Izumo, I’m-!”  
“And what if they don’t agree to stop!?” Izumo paused. “You gave them permission to fight you, so they’ll keep fighting you regardless of what you ask, Kotetsu, the more money they’re offered, the less they’ll listen to you asking to stop, do you think that that kind of people are going to stop because you ask them to if they’re offered thousands and thousands to keep going!?”  
“It’s never happened, Izumo!”  
“So why are you waiting for it to happen so you understand!? Why must it happen so you understand!?”

“I’m telling you that that’s what limits are for! The fighters choose the limits, not just the one winning but myself too if I’m ever on the losing end!”  
“My god, Kotetsu, why are you holding so hard to this stupidity!? Why do you insist on waiting until stumbling upon someone that wants you dead!?”  
“Because that’s never going to happen!”  
“You don’t know that!”  
“So don’t you!”  
“But why try it!? Why take the chances of risk when we were fine with a peaceful, normal life!?”  
“Why stay stuck at boring, dull normal, Izumo!?”  
“Because boring means safe and I’d very much know you’re bored and safe than risking yourself for a tiny extra you don’t need!”  
“How can’t you see you’re overreacting!?”  
“How can’t you see you’re being a complete idiot!?”  
“And you insist you’re not just taking every argument as a chance to insult me!?”  
“And you insist on going there and…!”

Instead of going on, Izumo grabbed his hair in tight fists, growled, and stomped a foot as he roared out loud in frustration.  
“Get out of my house!”   
_“Your_ house!?” Kotetsu gasped offended. “This apartment belongs to both us!”  
“Well, if I recall correctly, the papers have _my_ name only!”  
“While we’re both paying half the rent each!” Kotetsu pointed at him. “Why don’t _you_ leave if you so much want to get away from me, huh? Go to Raidou again, why not, you seem very close to him, eh? Or Genma! Why don’t you also get Aoba involved in this? Or Iruka again, and let his boyfriend get involved too, why not, and then Iruka’s parents, and then Kakashi’s dad too, and then Inoichi-san and Ibiki-san, and Tsunade-sama, why the fuck not!? Let everyone know I’m an idiot and the villain of this story!”  
“At least you’re aware of _that!”_ Izumo yelled back. “So what do I need to do now so you’re also aware of the real important part you insist on not seeing so you stop going to that fucking place!?” 

It was Kotetsu’s turn to growl and grab his hair.  
“You know what Izumo? Maybe I really should just get out of this place and not come back if it annoys you so much!” Kotetsu threatened. “And do as you did and stress the fuck out of my best friend by just vanishing without a trace or a single text! How about that?”  
“That would be fantastic!” Izumo yelled back, frowning even more. “You know what? That would be ideal! Because you know what? I don’t _care_ anymore, Kotetsu! I don’t care anymore, and I mean it now!”

Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitched, and while he was still frowning and glaring at his friend, he stayed quiet waiting for an explanation.  
“You know how last week I told you I didn’t care and do whatever you want? I still cared, because that’s what friends do!” he admitted angrily. “So I still kept track of you with a distance, but you know what? I’m done with that, too! I’m done for real this time and there’s nothing that can change that now! I won’t get any more stressed over this bullshit! I won’t get any more stressed, angry, sad, waste my time or feel upset over anything related to this or to you because it’s useless! I’ve understood now how useless it is, you’re not going to change or stop, this is not going to change or stop, so it’s worthless, it’s absolutely worthless and meaningless to continue caring, so I won’t!”

Kotetsu felt a pinch in his stomach, but he used it to fuel his anger, so he growled under his breath at Izumo, almost like a threat.  
“I won’t care for someone that won’t care for himself in the slightest!” Izumo continued. “So you wanna go out there, keep fighting strangers? Go! And you won’t come home to worry me on purpose? Then don’t! I don’t give a damn! I won’t check up on you or your room to see if you’re back, I won’t text you, I won’t even ask your mom or any friend, I’ll just let you do whatever the fuck you please, seen as you’re already doing that! I don’t care anymore, Kotetsu, I won’t waste my sanity and peace over your stupidities anymore!” 

He pushed Kotetsu only enough to make him take a step back, and put a finger to his chest again.   
“See if I care” Izumo hissed at him lowly, eyes dark in hatred as he glared at Kotetsu. “One day, you’re going to fight the wrong guy. Someone that won’t stop until you’re crushed flat on the ground, and they’re not going to misdirect their winning kick just out of pity for you” Izumo growled lowly. “One day you’re going to fight the wrong guy, and he’s not going to have a trace of empathy like you haven’t had for any of whom _you’ve_ beat. And he’s not going to stop at the five million offer to kill you” he grabbed Kotetsu by the shirt and pulled him closer, glare sharpening. “And when that happens, I won’t be there to stop them or get in between. And when you don’t come home, I’ll just pretend you’re somewhere else, not texting me just to worry me on purpose. You’re going to get seriously injured or worse…and I won’t fucking _care.”_

He let go of Kotetsu, who took a step back, keeping the chin up and the eyes on Izumo’s.  
“Congratulations, Kotetsu” Izumo said bitterly. “You’ve finally gotten rid of my uptight, dramatic ass. You’re free to do whatever you please without me annoying the fuck out of you and breathing on your neck at every step. I’m happy for you, I’m _so happy_ that this illegal, unethical, dangerous little mischief of yours can give you all that freedom and joy and peace, and all the fortune that I can’t” Izumo’s jaw clenched for a moment before he just tossed to the floor the bag of water from the melted ice. “Enjoy your bloodied money.”

“So that’s it?” Kotetsu asked as Izumo started walking away. “I’m losing my best friend because of this stupid fight, just like that?”  
“I didn’t quit, you fired me!” Izumo yelled and proceeded to, like his conclusion of every fight, storm into his room and slam his door closed. 

Kotetsu kept glaring at the hallway for a while, and growled under his breath.  
Fine, then. If Izumo considered this fight and his drama to be more important than Kotetsu and their lifelong friendship, then so be it. Kotetsu wasn’t the one ending this friendship, it was Izumo, just like he hadn’t been the one to take up on fighting him and it had been Izumo who provoked him into it.

Whatever. It wasn’t like he needed Izumo. Indeed, better for him! That was better because now all of Kotetsu’s money was for Kotetsu alone to enjoy and thrive on, Izumo was missing out! Kotetsu now had all of this money for himself and himself alone.  
That night he had to put his brain to use on how he would spend the money on himself, because everything he had planned for it so far all involved Izumo…

But whatever. Izumo wasn’t his friend anymore, he had made sure to keep it very clear. Threatening Kotetsu with how he wasn’t going to care if he died. Pscht.   
That kind of things never happened in real life. Izumo was just a drama prince, like always…so fuck him, or whatever. Kotetsu was and would be fine, and now he had all his fortune for himself alone, no petty “best friend” in the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> is anyone reading, can you please make a tiny little noiiisssseeeeee thank u


	11. Chapter 11

A couple days passed and, needless to say, Kotetsu and Izumo continued ignoring each other. This kind of ignoring was just as bad and even worse than before their fight; even if they were silent, there was a different tension to it that made things uncomfortable to an almost unbearable degree. At least…at least to Kotetsu, that is, from what he could see. Because every time he stole a subtle glance, Izumo seemed…fine with this. Uninterested. He didn’t even seem angry anymore like back when they were being petty on purpose, he seemed…so neutral. So calm.  
It made Kotetsu angrier than it should have.

Kotetsu really couldn’t understand how Izumo could look so neutral. Izumo lately had been so…laid back, not frowning, not being petty, not storming around like a possessed demon or screeching out orders and obscenities like a dinosaur, not rolling his eyes at Kotetsu, not even scowling whenever Kotetsu had tried to annoy him on purpose just to get a reaction from him….just nothing. It made Kotetsu anxious, it felt like Izumo was right there physically but could be at the other side of the world and it would be the same because he was just so _absent._

Kotetsu had tried to dismiss the sensation and the way Izumo was acting by trying to think that Izumo was just pretending. That had to be it. Izumo couldn’t just…really not care. Right? Sure, they had argued very bad, and beat each other up, but…he couldn’t just say he wasn’t going to care anymore and actually not care. Right? Feelings didn’t work like that. Feelings were intrusive and people didn’t choose them, if that was the case Kotetsu could have just chosen to have never been angry at Izumo, but he couldn’t, emotions appeared on their own, so it wasn’t like Izumo could have just…stopped caring like it could be controlled with a button.

So he had to be acting. Izumo, that petty little drama prince, he was just acting like he was distant and not caring so to make Kotetsu feel this terrible, so to once more try to force Kotetsu into being first to give in, so that Izumo could ‘win’. Pscht. Tiny little pesky brat. So Kotetsu ignored him too trusting in the idea that Izumo was just acting.

Which made it all so much worse when Kotetsu saw Izumo pick his phone up at work.  
The two were working quietly on paperwork. Izumo’s phone would buzz randomly, and Izumo would get a quick look, maybe send only a very quick text back, and continue working. But it kept buzzing until it couldn’t be ignored by Kotetsu anymore. He stole subtle glances each now and then, confused. Izumo’s phone never…went off like this. No one was ever this insistent because they knew he never picked up at work. Who was it? Confused and feeling suddenly insecure, though not sure why, Kotetsu continued glancing subtly.  
His heart dropped when, after a thousand texts more, Izumo’s phone buzzed again, and his frie- his…ex best friend looked at the screen, smiled at it, and put his pen down to take the phone in both hands and answer. 

Kotetsu kept staring, still subtle enough, but not pretending to be taking notes anymore. Izumo…? Izumo had a strict no phone policy when at the cinema, eating out with someone, and at work. He never picked up for more than just quick replies, sometimes not even that, and now he was just…he had put his work aside to text? Kotetsu had tried thinking maybe it was a family emergency or something, but…but Izumo was smiling at his phone. And rather fondly, at that. Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitched as he eyed his ex best friend. Who…who was it? Izumo never smiled like that even when it was about Iruka, his other best friend…so who could it be that was stealing these- these-…pretty, bright and happy smiles and how long had it been since Kotetsu got one of those by himself or at least seen it, who was it? 

Despite how long he kept staring, Izumo didn’t look back at him and it was worse than if he had caught him staring. Because Izumo seemed so immersed into his conversation, and it was lasting so long. He hadn’t picked his phone for a text, he was properly chatting now. Izumo had only done that the few times Kotetsu had stayed home with a cold…and chatting _with_ Kotetsu…never someone else…  
Kotetsu felt a pinch inside and went back to working. Nah. Izumo was just…annoying him on purpose. He knew that Kotetsu would be curious so that was why he was texting so much when he normally didn’t. It was probably just any of the guys, maybe it was Kotetsu’s own mom, and Izumo was just…acting…like this. 

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu had tried to dismiss Izumo’s behavior. Mostly because it wasn’t something otherworldly; Izumo had other friends, he had fun with other people, it wasn’t like Kotetsu was all that he knew. So really it shouldn’t be bothering Kotetsu this much that Izumo was texting so much and playing so much and now also going out each now and then with god knows who…the thing was, even though he knew it was nothing new, Kotetsu still couldn’t help but be upset.

Kotetsu kept eyeing Izumo during work time, subtly, and Izumo never once acknowledged him. This was now two days he spent in a row actively picking his phone up to text while at work. Everything that Kotetsu could wonder was who he was texting. A few times, while Izumo texted, Kotetsu made sure to, as subtly as he possibly could, check his chats to see which of their friends were online that could be chatting with him. Being working hours, most were offline. Which made it a million times worse.  
Who was it? Was Izumo- was he talking to someone…outside their circle? Was it someone Kotetsu knew?   
Had Izumo met…a new person…?

Kotetsu almost accidentally broke the pencil he was holding, but held back in time. He tried to look away while Izumo smiled at his phone and continued texting, heart pounding. Why was the idea of Izumo having new friends so unnecessarily…unsettling? It wasn’t like he never did, it was…indeed, it was fine, Izumo could and should be as happy as Kotetsu always wanted, but…hm. The idea of someone… _else_ getting all these smiles from Izumo, the idea of someone else getting all of Izumo’s fun and companionship and all…

…was Kotetsu like…jealous?   
After thinking it through for a bit, Kotetsu felt his stomach shrink and he wanted to drop his head on the desk, but that would just expose him to Izumo. So, instead, he pretended to look through some files while not really looking.  
Wow. Fantastic. Now it turned out he couldn’t see his best- his ex best friend have other friends without wanting to be his spotlight of attention, like a little…selfish, egocentric, toxic little shit.  
Kotetsu had to leave for the bathroom to drop his head against a wall where Izumo couldn’t see him.

°˖✧°˖✧

It was getting ridiculous. Izumo couldn’t be this good an actor to make his disinterest and happiness look so natural, it was just…not true. It couldn’t be true. Izumo was just…blank. No, it was worse, he was so _happy._ At least back when he was complaining, it was because he _cared._ It had been _so annoying,_ , but at least that showed he cared. No one got upset at something they didn’t care about. So now that there was _nothing,_ not a yell, not one roll of the eyes, not a single _glance_ or tiny little miserable nod of acknowledgment, like Kotetsu had just fucking vanished in thin air and never existed, it was _so bad._

Kotetsu had never…gone this much time without Izumo’s company. Sure, they had been physically separate, for months even, but at least even then they would text or have a phone call or something. This was way worse than being a whole ocean apart, and he was sitting right across him. It wasn’t- it wasn’t like he _needed_ Izumo…  
 _…do I?_  
It was more like…well, Izumo had been there since he had memory. Him being so absent in his life was like throwing down a main column of his life, of course he felt so anxious and lost.   
_He’s so happy, though, maybe I was never half as important to him as he is to me._

Kotetsu shook his head and sighed, trying to focus on the paperwork that he hadn’t managed to complete in half an hour already. No, that wasn’t right, he couldn’t…be so dependent on Izumo. He _wasn’t_ , hurting from the loss of such important friendship and feeling unloved was natural, especially from a friendship like the one he had had with Izumo, it was just…wow, feelings sucked so bad.   
It was fine…it wasn’t like Kotetsu could force people to feel towards him like he felt towards them…  
Kotetsu subtly glanced at Izumo across the desk. His friend was smiling that smile of his that said he was holding back laughter while he read something in his phone, and he just barely held back one of his cute little snorts as he started texting back.

…well, if Izumo didn’t appreciate him half as much as Kotetsu did, then why should Kotetsu feel bad? Someone that just threw him away like garbage without the tiniest trace of guilt wasn’t someone he wanted as a friend, anyway.  
Kotetsu still subtly glanced again a minute later, trying to see if whoever he was texting could get one of those adorable little chuckles from him again, because Kotetsu hadn’t seen that in weeks.

°˖✧°˖✧

Okay, you know what, Izumo wasn’t the only one that could play this game. Maybe Kotetsu lowered his guard for a moment and maybe he was a little bit sad, but he was no moron; that was Izumo’s plan. All this…laid back attitude, his carefree behavior, it was all on purpose specifically to make Kotetsu feel bad and have him come back crying because he missed him. Well, Kotetsu wasn’t going to fall in his reverse-psychology tricks, he wasn’t going to believe Izumo’s lighthearted attitude because it was _fake!_

And you know what he needed? Izumo needed a real taste of his drama to drop it. And Kotetsu was going to give it to him.  
So he wouldn’t care if Kotetsu disappeared, huh? 

One day, while subtly glaring at Izumo while he so happily texted with whoever the fuck made him happy enough to text at work, Kotetsu’s own phone buzzed. He looked down at it, and decided to take a look because if Izumo was going to happily text with someone right on his nose, then so could Kotetsu. With an angry huff and scowl, Kotetsu tried dismissing the whirlwind of thoughts in his head and got to his texts.  
 _Hey :-)_ read a first text from his uncle. _Are you and Zumi free tomorrow and friday nights?_  
Kotetsu subtly glanced at Izumo again, but looked away as soon as he saw his friend staring at his phone, apparently excited for it to buzz again, instead of focusing on his work.   
_Zum’s got some stuff to do, but I’m free. Why’s that? :o_

It turned out his uncle had been requested from work for a couple nights at the other end of the country, but he couldn’t bring his dog with him and didn’t want it to be alone.  
 _He cries all night if no one sleeps with him :(((((_

Kotetsu subtly glanced at Izumo. The guy was still getting easily distracted from his work, glancing away at his phone looking ready to pick it up as soon as it buzzed again, waiting so…eagerly for whoever the fuck made him so excited to talk, like they couldn’t wait just a few fucking hours until Izumo was out of work. The idea struck Kotetsu while he texted back, promising to be there on both evenings and nights to babysit the dog.

On Thursday morning, Kotetsu took the bike and left as usual, with Izumo ignoring him massively and going for the bus. Kotetsu took the normal route as long as the bus was in sight, and, as soon as they took separate ways, Kotetsu turned around, and pedaled somewhere else.   
About half an hour later, he arrived at his uncle’s house, found the hidden key where it was promised to be, and walked in to an excited Ryuu-chan wiggling the tail like crazy and greeting him good morning, flopped down on the couch, and decided to sleep in a bit more.

Kotetsu had made sure last day to let his bosses know he was going to miss two work days, so it was okay. And he didn’t worry about them telling Izumo, in case Izumo asked for him, because he had asked their bosses to not tell him and pretend they had no idea where he was.  
“I have some…medical tests that really embarrass me, and I don’t want to worry Izumo unnecessarily just yet” he had said, and because these were doctors that had empathy regarding people that were embarrassed about some tests, because Kotetsu didn’t specify what kind of tests so it made it super awkward, and because they knew Izumo would have a bad time thinking of Kotetsu’s possible illness (as they weren’t aware of their current quarrel), they had promised to play fool if Izumo asked. 

_When_ Izumo asked. There was no way he wasn’t going to ask. Kotetsu was vanishing out of fucking nowhere, without telling him, without a hint, with no one to tell him the truth (he had told his mom the same medical test thing, and she had promised to not say a thing to Izumo so long he told her as soon as he had the results). There was no way Izumo wouldn’t worry. A day wouldn’t do much, Izumo would be too proud and would think that it was Kotetsu vanishing on purpose. Two days, though, without even a text, and their friends genuinely unaware of his whereabouts too…there was no way. Izumo wasn’t going to care? Izumo was going to be all laid-back and carefree? Yeah, well, we would see about that!

The first day went by quietly. It almost made Kotetsu angry that, among the times his phone buzzed, none was Izumo. It was fine, he told himself, he would worry the next day. Kotetsu decided that he too could be laid-back, so he tried to spend the day with the mind as clear as he could have it. He bought and prepared snacks for himself, played with the dog, spent the day watching TV and playing in his phone, and he had a moderately nice day, actually. He just couldn’t stop the sudden pinches of anger whenever he remembered Izumo had yet not texted him.

After a day, a night, and half a day missing and just chilling with the dog, finally, his phone buzzed and the preview showed the so expected name.  
 _Zum._  
With the heart jumping out of his chest and his entire body jumping up like he had been revived with a bolt, Kotetsu felt his whole being shake with electricity, nervousness, and the pride of victory. Yes! He had him! Careful to not open the actual conversation and just looking at the preview from the top of his phone, Kotetsu read his message.

_Where’s the CDS-024 file?_

Huh. Oh, so he was- oh, okay, Kotetsu knew what this meant. You see, Izumo wasn’t really asking about a file Kotetsu had worked and that he needed right now, it was an _excuse._ Izumo hadn’t asked where he was or if he was okay, but that was because doing that would make him lose his pride, it would be humiliating for him, he was too proud and sassy and immature to say what he wanted to know, so he had looked for another way; so he was asking about work stuff, to pretend he wasn’t interested in Kotetsu’s status and whereabouts, while his real intention was getting Kotetsu to text back an answer, because if he texted back an answer, it would mean he was okay and safe, which was really what Izumo-

_Nvm, I found it. Don’t text back._

Wha- but Kotetsu hadn’t actually opened the conversation, Izumo couldn’t know he had looked at his message…he couldn’t ask him to not text back, the fact that his phone received messages didn’t mean Kotetsu was fine, he could be deathly injured in a sewer and the phone lying two meters away buzzing, Izumo couldn’t know he was fine through just that! He couldn’t really…not ask Kotetsu where he was, he couldn’t really at least just care about Kotetsu marking the conversation as seen, he couldn’t be serious!

Kotetsu was so angry, he didn’t even want to text him back an insult just to annoy him. He flopped onto the couch, grumbling to himself, and staring at the phone in disbelief.  
Izumo’s profile picture then disappeared, like when someone deleted you from their contact list.  
It was good Kotetsu was babysitting a dog, because a child would have probably been traumatized just from the words that left Kotetsu’s mouth for an hour straight.

°˖✧°˖✧

Two days and two nights. And half a day. Being Saturday, Kotetsu didn’t have to worry about being late to work, so he had taken it easy when he went back home. Partly nervous, partly trying to dismiss it with a pretend of being carefree, Kotetsu fed the dog, patted it goodbye, and went home.   
He wasn’t sure what he would find at home. As in, what was Izumo’s status about him disappearing without a word and no one to tell him. He wasn’t sure what he expected. Or what he wanted to find. For a moment, while waiting at a red light on the bike, he felt genuinely bad. Gee…he had literally vanished himself from his acquaintances and friends just…to worry Izumo on purpose? He wasn’t sure what was worse, the immense distance his own pettiness had gone to the point of real remorse, or the image of Izumo freaking out. Izumo unable to sleep, walking in circles, phoning friend after friend with an ever-growing worry sitting in his stomach, him forcing himself to stay awake, staring out the window all day all night, waiting for the tiniest trace…

God damn it. Now this felt like a stupid idea. Kotetsu really did want Izumo to worry, even if just a bit, he couldn’t help it, but…not if it was at the cost of Izumo’s peace. Maybe when he arrived, he should apologize. Fuck pride, this had gone too far and worrying Izumo like this wasn’t right. Stapling papers the wrong way, whatever, that was childish mischief, but this? It was wrong…

Still nervous but now also ready to apologize, Kotetsu let a breath out once he was at the door, tried to collect himself, tried to mentally prepare himself for maybe an emotional reunion and maybe cry a bit, and he opened the door.  
The apartment looked very…normal. Maybe a bit cleaner than usual. Izumo wasn’t in sight of the main area…but he could hear his voice. He was talking- talking? Wasn’t he supposed…no one else…  
Curious, and with the heart pounding, Kotetsu closed the door quietly, took his shoes off, and quietly walked through the hallway that led to the bedrooms, Izumo’s voice growing louder. It was a casual conversation, it seemed…no one was answering, so maybe it was a phone call…

Not helping it, Kotetsu leaned close to Izumo’s door and started eavesdropping.  
“…yeah, I was asking myself the same thing” Izumo was saying quietly. He sounded a bit distant, like besides being in his room he was facing the other way from the door, and moving around, maybe cleaning or messing with his clothes? “Yeah, no, because there was no way he could have done that” Kotetsu’s heart skipped a beat. He? Was he talking about…Kotetsu? “Because I already told you that his interest is not the throne, it looks like it but it’s just because it’s his way to make it to the aristocracy, and have some petty vengeance.”

…what?

“Yeah, like, not even murder, he’s literally just trying to get someone to make something embarrassing in public and that’s it” Izumo continued saying, and there was a pause. “Yeah! Yeah, that’s why it’s _so_ ridiculous that he’s your favorite; among all the other characters, you put your eyes on the fool” a longer pause, and then a short laugh. “Well, yeah, but that’s different, she’s kind of fastidious _but_ super firm and fair, she should be queen and I don’t mean it just because she’s my fave. No, _you’re_ the idiot!” and more laughter. 

Kotetsu moved away from the door and stared at nowhere with a frown and the heart a little wrenched. _What?_ Izumo was talking about some…TV show?   
“Yeah, no, I had a great time” Izumo said as if whoever was on the phone had changed the subject. “We should definitely repeat it. I mean, you seemed kinda entertained too…” a pause, a little gasp, and then Izumo’s embarrassed voice going, “I didn’t mean it like that!! No, I’m sorry, that’s not the word I was- stop!” a laugh. “Stop, you know I’m bad enough with this already!” 

Kotetsu’s heart skipped a beat and he felt as if though it would burst out of his chest from the speed.  
 _What?_  
“Speaking of which- no, wait, seriously, you just reminded me…” and Izumo’s voice went quieter and a bit hesitant. “You forgot your- your…” and quieter. “You forgot your belt here…”  
And he felt as if though his heart had burst out like a bomb.  
 _What!?_  
“Yeah, no, I didn’t notice until just a bit ago, I was cleaning around and it was under my bed, so…yeah, that’s why we didn’t see it” and he sounded _so_ casual, “but how didn’t you notice? Like, a necklace, a wristband, I get forgetting those in someone else’s house, but your _belt?”_

Whatever the other person replied, Izumo just burst out laughing a bit embarrassed but mostly genuinely amused.   
Kotetsu, outside the door, took a few steps back, and even though Izumo continued speaking, Kotetsu wasn’t hearing anymore.   
A belt? Why would someone forget their belt in Izumo’s _room_ if it wasn’t because-  
So Izumo _had_ a date…?

After a second of a heart wrench, Kotetsu’s veins were suddenly lit aflame. And he glared at Izumo’s door.  
How _dare_ he…? How _dare_ he…!  
Kotetsu had vanished without a word, and with the few people that knew where he was instructed to not tell anyone, Izumo hadn’t known a single thing about him for the past two and half days, and Izumo was bringing people into the apartment just like that!? In _their_ apartment, in Kotetsu’s house without his knowledge!? Not only was Izumo completely indifferent to his unknown status, he was bringing some unknown people home while Kotetsu wasn’t around!? Watching shows and doing things and laughing!? Kotetsu could have been dumped in a pool of his own blood and Izumo was- getting laid!?

Needing every fiber of his body and soul to hold back a roar of anger, Kotetsu fidgeted in his spot with his own hands, pulled his hair, and had to stop himself, turning around on his heels and opened the door to his own room trying to not make a noise. He went in and, with more self control than he had, he closed the door as subtly as he could in his current rage so Izumo wouldn’t hear…not like it was a hard task, what with that bastard laughing so much and talking so happy as he was with his stupid date that had forgotten their belt at home after a night of TV shows and snacks and laughs stupid _sex_ with stupid Izumo while Kotetsu was petting a fucking _dog!_

Kotetsu threw himself in bed and put a pillow hard against his face while yelling backwards; if he made a noise, Izumo would hear and know he had eavesdropped, even if he didn’t know how much, so Kotetsu just…kept it in. Screamed inside, screamed mentally feeling himself explode in anger like a raging volcano that could make a universal catastrophe, he could feel his own soul become fire and explosions…while outside he just screeched in a pathetic tiny silent and muffled whine into a pillow, keeping it all in, all of it, bottling it up in a bottle that didn’t fit anymore. When he was done swallowing every bit of anger, he collapsed in bed with a sigh.   
Wow. Goddamn Izumo was a stupid jerk that really didn’t care.

For a good while, Kotetsu could do but stay in bed, half hugged to a pillow, mopping and being angry at stupid Izumo. He heard his door and heard him move around the apartment, still oblivious to Kotetsu’s presence. Still, Kotetsu stayed on his bed for a moment while he swallowed all the anger. After about an hour trying to breathe and calm down, but unable to stop the tornado of thoughts and feelings in his head and heart, Kotetsu could only resign to be as calm as he could, cooling down. Then, angry but calm, he left his room.

When he closed the door of his room, he heard Izumo gasp quietly from the kitchen. Kotetsu stared. Izumo, at the kitchen, had flinched and looked over his shoulder towards him, apparently startled by the noise…but, as soon as he saw it was Kotetsu and not some robber, he immediately looked away with a look of so _much_ disinterest, and so _fast_ , like…he didn’t even eye Kotetsu to see what his state was. He only looked enough to recognize him and that was it. Kotetsu could be missing a leg or an eye or could have a hole in his chest, and Izumo wouldn’t have noticed or looked twice. He just…made sure it wasn’t a stranger and turned around, back to the stove, and whatever he was cooking.

Kotetsu felt a pinch in his heart and anger in his stomach as his frown deepened. He rolled the eyes as he went for the living room, letting himself drop there, hating that he had to wait for Izumo to be done at the kitchen to use it himself, and hating how good whatever Izumo was cooking smelled. So Izumo didn’t need him even for that. Kotetsu had gone missing for days, and not only Izumo had it all under control, he was also…enjoying it. The apartment was clean, he seemed relaxed, and he could cook for himself…and for someone else, it seemed. Pscht. 

Kotetsu grabbed a cushion from the couch at hugged it angrily while he waited, trapped with his own head and everything it thought. Inevitably, everything he could think about was Izumo. Izumo and the belt of some stupid stranger, and Izumo and how he hadn’t even given him an acknowledging look. Thinking about all the things Izumo had told him last time they spoke; that he wouldn’t care, that one day he would fight someone dangerous, that Izumo wasn’t going to be there…that, if Kotetsu ever disappeared and didn’t say anything, he was just going to pretend he left on purpose…Izumo telling him to get out of ‘his’ house…

Kotetsu tightened his grip on the cushion.  
Well, you know what? Kotetsu could very much get out of the apartment, if Izumo cared so little about him anymore. Seen as he wasn’t going to ask where he went, seen as he was already bringing people in when he wasn’t around anyway, seen as he was making the apartment his own and seen as he was so happy about Kotetsu being gone. Kotetsu could leave. Indeed, he could actually, really afford a new place. If he did the mental math of how much money there was under his mattress right now, he could very much give at least the first payment for a new apartment all to himself, and the fast, easy money of the warehouse fight club would make rent a children’s game. Yeah. Yeah, he could do that…

Stupid Izumo. How dare he…change Kotetsu just like that. And for a lover. Another friend would have been less bad, but a lover…  
Kotetsu frowned and tightened even more his hug on the cushion.   
By the time Izumo was done in the kitchen, Kotetsu had lost every bit of his appetite, so he just stayed there, tightly, angrily clutched to a stupid cushion, and thinking about apartments, Izumo, and lost belts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hnnnnnnnnn, I'm not actually happy with this chapter, but I needed the bridge for the next one.
> 
> Buckle up, kids.  
> There's only so much anger you can bottle before it makes you do stupidities... (´• ω •`)
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning:  
> \- The homophobic F slur is said a couple times.

Kotetsu wasn’t focusing on anything, at all. He had no focus and no mood. He went on with his grey routine bitterly, and sometimes went to the fighting warehouse a few times to let out a bit of his bottled up anger. And to not be home…because Izumo was there. Sometimes. Some other times, Izumo had taken up on…going out, with whoever that date of his was. It really didn’t make it any better than having to be in the same apartment with him. It was kind of worse. When Izumo was home, there was tension and all this ignoring each other, but he was around…Izumo going out only made Kotetsu wonder whatever the hell he was doing, and if he was having fun, while Kotetsu was just…splattered on the couch watching stupid TV. 

So he had gone out a few times too to not deal with any of that; neither be home with Izumo, nor to be home without Izumo. Being home was just…not enjoyable, lately. At least at the lab and hospital there were things to do that kept his mind relatively busy. Home, though…it only made him remember Izumo was no longer his friend and that he no longer needed nor wanted his presence. 

Kotetsu poked his pancakes lazily. He watched some of the syrup roll down from an edge, but, for once, his mouth didn’t water, and his stomach did the opposite of growling. He could hear sizzling from the stove as Izumo cooked something, some vegetables, it seemed. It smelled real nice for a guy that only cooked when he had no other option. It made his stomach even more nauseous, paradoxically. 

Kotetsu couldn’t stop thinking about Izumo and how fine he was and their apartment. No matter where he went in it, Kotetsu was simply…not comfortable. If he was in his room, he could only imagine noises of Izumo and someone else coming from the room across his, and it made him angrier than it should. He guessed it was because of personal space, like…Izumo could date whoever he wanted, that was fine, but not across Kotetsu’s room. Gross. If he was in the bathroom, all he could think was someone else using his soap. If he was in the main area, he either could see Izumo somewhere, and he was just reminded of how distant and absent he was despite being right there, or Izumo was actually absent, and it made the emptiness of the apartment even worse. 

Kotetsu sighed and just continued poking his dinner. Izumo was calmly messing with kitchenware while cooking his own dinner, still ignoring him without the tiniest glance. Kotetsu didn’t even glance at him this time. What was the point? Izumo wasn’t going to look back, and he was only going to get angrier because of how little Izumo cared. Pscht. What a jerk. Throwing away twenty years of friendship so easily, without even acknowledging a tiny bit of how Kotetsu was feeling, already living life at its fullest without the tiniest goodbye, at least…

By the time Kotetsu realized, he was frowning at his food.  
_Get out of my house!!_  
Pscht. His house. Why had Izumo yelled that out that time, though? It had been so natural…Izumo normally always spoke with ‘We’. ‘We’ got results from the doctor even if it had only been one of them being tested, ‘We’ had an accident even if it had only been one of them…‘our’ place, every time he spoke to someone about their apartment, even if Kotetsu wasn’t part of the conversation. ‘The apartment’ every time Izumo referred to it. It was never ‘mine’. Izumo had never spoken of it being his until that argument…

Ever since that day Kotetsu came home to eavesdrop on Izumo talking to his date, Kotetsu hadn’t stopped thinking about the possibility of really moving out. The possibility started feeling stronger as he poked his pancakes and pouted angrily at them. The thought first came as a petty act to annoy Izumo and show him that he didn’t need him either, but now it felt like a serious matter. For his own health. Kotetsu was no longer comfortable in the apartment, Izumo being there was bad and Izumo not being there was worse, Kotetsu was an anxious, angry mess at every moment he spent there, and it wasn’t like Izumo needed him or wanted him there anymore, anyway. 

Maybe moving out wasn’t a bad idea, actually…besides, this fight made Kotetsu realize that it could actually be a good idea. He had lived all his life with Izumo. Indeed, it had always been like literally living together and just sleeping in separate places from kindergarten to high school, and ever since university they really did live together. They were twenty fucking five, for god’s sake. He couldn’t just…live forever with Izumo. They couldn’t be this dependent, it was as bad as still living with parents at age forty for dependence. They would eventually drift apart, anyway, when they would have their own romantic partner or partners and move out with them, it wasn’t like they could have a wife or husband or spouse and still live with each other while the spouse lived away, it didn’t work like that. Like…sure, Kotetsu was single, but one day that was supposed to happen. They were meant to be separated at some point, anyway, so it wasn’t like this was bad; it was just…taking the separate ways they were always meant to take a little earlier.

Kotetsu sliced a bit of the pancakes with the side of his fork, frown deepening.  
Yeah. He should move out for real. It would do good to both of them. Izumo was already so happy without him, so he could have that forever now, and Kotetsu would have some peace of mind with a place of his own. He would get a nice place. It didn’t even have to be big, just cozy and warm and all his. He hadn’t counted the money under his mattress but he was sure it had to be at least the price for the first rent of a new place. 

Without having eaten a single bite, Kotetsu left his dish aside and went for the door. Not looking back, he put his shoes on, tied them safe, grabbed his hoodie, and put it on as he grabbed his keys and left the apartment. 

°˖✧°˖✧

Kotetsu huffed out as he recovered, watching as his opponent staggered back and fell. He spent a few moments easing his breath, waiting and watching as the guy spent some moments thrown on the floor before pulling up, cleaning his mouth, and giving him a glare before standing up. The guy spat in his direction, landing near his feet. Gross. Kotetsu just ignored him. These people were really all bark and no bite.  
“Why stop there, huh!? No one asked for you fuckers to stop, go back in the pitch, you pussy!” someone in the crowd was yelling to the guy that was leaving the circle. “Aw, so you’re just going to run away? What a fucking coward, what a pussy!”

Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitched while he looked around the crowd subtly, though not paying too much attention, either. He turned back and started collecting his fulfilled requests’ money, but thought about that voice. It could may only be Kotetsu’s imagination, but the crowd, at least a few couple people in there, seemed…kinda heated up. More than usual, that is. There was someone that he swore was throwing in insults for no reason…not the usual kind, rather, a bit more aggressive. Kotetsu dismissed it and continued collecting the money of his third fight. These people were too noisy and barked too much without really being a real threat, it was pathetic.

After putting his money away in the safe pocket of his pants, Kotetsu went back into the pitch and started stretching his arms, getting ready mentally and physically.  
“Gonna pick another fight, baby boy?” one of the guys that acted as unofficial mod that night asked. Kotetsu nodded without needing much of a thought. Two guys had gone down very fast, and the other hadn’t been a big deal, so the fights could as well count as only warm-up. “Okay, then” and the guy turned to the crowd. “Anyone that wants to pick a fight with him?”

It took a bit of a moment, like it normally did. Kotetsu continued stretching and breathing in and out calmly.  
“Next fighter?”  
“You know what? I’m going to give it a go.”

Kotetsu finished stretching his neck, and looked at his new opponent. Coming from among the crowd, some guy he had never seen before went into the pitch.  
It was a rather tall guy. It wasn’t rare. Kotetsu was near the average, a little bit shorter, and it wasn’t rare to find and fight taller guys. They could be a challenge, but, normally not trained, their size wasn’t really a vantage. He wore baggy clothes, nothing out of ordinary…it was just…the look on his face was a bit weird. He had a smart, almost smug gaze, and a confident aura that was near mocking.

Kotetsu’s eyebrow twitched again. Almost as soon as he saw him, something in Kotetsu…rang a little bell. He wasn’t familiar in the slightest, and there was nothing visually obvious in him that announced a dangerous person, it was more like…the look on his face, or the overall aura around him. It was more of a hunch and a feeling.  
The guy went in and smirked at him, not breaking eye contact. Something in Kotetsu rang a bell again…  
…but sure he was just exaggerating, right? It wasn’t like a little feeling in the gut was really a prophet or like they could know everything about a person in one moment. Maybe it was just that he looked kind of tough…his boss, Ibiki, looked quite scary too, but he was a good person, despite the dry attitude. Maybe it was something like this, maybe the guy just came off as scary to anyone…

A bit unsure, Kotetsu put his fists up and tried dismissing the weird feeling in his stomach. Huh. He had no reasons to reject this fight, he was just imagining things, tired and upset as he was.  
“In you go, then” the mod from before said and he retreated back into the crowd. “First bet in?”  
“Two thousand yen for the first that lands a punch!” and the first bet was thrown in.  
Kotetsu sighed and got ready.

And he accepted starting this fight.

He kept his fists up and eyed the guy, trying to see if he gave away some obvious weakness. The guy grinned at him and licked his lips, and, instead of getting ready, he pointed a finger at Kotetsu.  
“I’m going to fucking _destroy_ you” he threatened. “I’m going to fucking kill you, you puny jackass, you’re going out of here in fucking pieces.”  
Kotetsu’s eyebrows furrowed and he kept the fists up. Wow, someone had violence issues. He didn’t even look angry, he just looked hungry for attention and violence. 

Soon enough, the guy put his fists up as well. None moved at first. The guy started gesturing with his fingers, trying to tease Kotetsu to get closer.  
“Come on. Come on, what’re you waiting for, huh? Come on, you, faggot” the guy teased while jumping a little on his toes from time to time, still gesturing. Kotetsu kept the fists up and started rounding him without turning his back on him, the guy turning as well. “Come on, come here! You scared? Is that it? Huh?”

Kotetsu sighed. Good Lord, another one of those that kept talking the entire time, he was upset enough as it was to have to deal with some loose-mouth jerk. He wasn’t going to let that make him lose patience, though. He had to play it safe.  
“Okay, then, if you won’t come then I’ll go!” the guy said, and so he quickly approached Kotetsu; the fight started at a fast pace, the guy threw in a couple punches and Kotetsu dodged and blocked. The guy continued throwing punches but Kotetsu avoided and blocked all of them, getting only stray hits on the arms at most, nothing out of ordinary. Okay, this was one of those guys that went in all aggressive, so the best strategy with these assholes was to wait for them to tire out on their own, and then counterattack. 

For a while, Kotetsu kept moving back, covering his face and blocking all the hits he could. The guy sometimes insulted, sometimes kept quiet, as he continued throwing punches, only rarely moving back as if to measure what Kotetsu was doing.  
The guy engaged in a new series of punches. He tried getting to Kotetsu’s face, but Kotetsu blocked every hit. He waited, tried to be methodical, blocked seven, eight, nine punches…he finally saw an opening, blocked another hit, and so he went in with a punch that was always infallible and-  
The guy, way faster than Kotetsu could expect, grabbed his wrist, and twisted it so hard that Kotetsu groaned and staggered away.

Kotetsu had barely recovered balance and looked back when the guy was already throwing a punch; Kotetsu blocked it dumbly, more like putting an arm up to be hit there instead of the face, and moved back to at least catch a breath.  
He grabbed his own wrist and looked at it for a moment. What the hell? That had been too fast, sometimes not even trained people could stop a hit that went into an opening like that…

Kotetsu had to move away when the guy got on him again and started throwing more punches. He put the arms up and blocked, more alert and serious than before. He realized the guy’s punches had gotten stronger. Okay, so this was a more experienced fighter. Okay, it was fine, Kotetsu just had to- block- block- block- _hit._ Kotetsu moved back a bit but recovered as fast as he could to keep blocking. This guy was showing to be a challenge, but he could handle this, he just had to be a bit smarter. 

Once Kotetsu saw a bit of an opening, he started counter-attacking. He managed to land a hit on the guy’s jaw, and continued throwing a series of hits, most which were blocked…midway through his combo of punches, however, one of his hits was blocked, and he was suddenly punched in the face. One hit, one single punch…but it felt like it had contained the strength of five men.  
Groaning and staggering until falling on the ground, Kotetsu hurried to stand back up, a little dumbly, while moving a hand up to his mouth. 

He checked his hand and saw blood on it. One hit and he was already bleeding? He looked again at the guy and felt a pinch of fear; this wasn’t a random idiot that barked without biting. This was an idiot that did both. 

Izumo’s angry, cold glare flashed in his mind.  
_One day, you’re going to fight the wrong guy, Kotetsu._

Kotetsu gasped and barely in time moved away when the guy tried to throw another hit. He hurried to stand up and threw a successful kick; the guy turned around and calmly chased him, and they engaged in an exchange of punches. The guy wasn’t very fast, but his hits were ridiculously strong; even blocking his hits, Kotetsu still kept a groan in his throat and had to tighten his arms, feeling real ache with every hit. The guy kept throwing profanities here and there, still smiling and giving him those eyes of fire without anger, just a thirst of senseless violence.  
“Four thousand for a bleeding nose!”  
The guy’s punches intensified noticeably. Like the fun he was having wasn’t enough, it seemed like money was his real incentive. 

Okay. Okay, this was a bit more serious to what Kotetsu was used to; he was used to people being motivated by money, that was the only reason everybody was there in the first place. But this was a) someone that was better trained than the average Kotetsu normally found, and b) someone that, besides the money, was enjoying the fight on its own. And he was so strong and much bigger…  
Kotetsu contained a sigh and continued blocking for a bit, and finally counter attacked. He had this; it was as Izumo always said, it was never the strongest, it was always the smartest. So he just had to find one good hit. Finding an opening, finally, Kotetsu threw in a hit that was blocked, another, and finally he landed a hit…but it didn’t seem to do anything to the guy, who tried counterattacking instantly; Kotetsu blocked, found an opening, and landed a hit, and another, dodged, and landed another…

…but they didn’t really seem to do anything to the other guy, as he barely reacted. Kotetsu stared confusedly and continued punching, and while the guy did make little noises, he recovered instantly like he was made of steel. He got Kotetsu on the chest once, Kotetsu pulled back, barely and dumbly blocked a hit to the face, and moved back. Suddenly, he found himself unable to do anything but keep the arms up and block; the guy took up on a speed and strength that Kotetsu couldn’t handle or counter, not even dodge, only block. Every hit was stronger than the last and Kotetsu could only move back. Suddenly, he became hyperaware of having to play it extremely safe; it felt like he had to block every hit, because it would only need one that he missed to be lethal.

Kotetsu got angry of his hits not doing a thing to this guy, so he tried to put extra strength in his fists; he landed one and made the guy groan, another one was blocked, he landed another one, and the guy kicked him on the stomach so hard Kotetsu was sent back a considerable distance, once more falling back, but immediately struggling until he was back on his feet.  
Gee, this was new…he had never faced someone this strong and skilled before. He put his fists up and decided that, if it got too bad, he could just quit. Everyone always stopped when the other fighter left the ring, it was never a personal fight, so the guy would have no reasons to chase him if Kotetsu decided to leave.  
“Four thousand and five hundred for a black eye!!”  
_Someone that won’t have mercy on you._

Kotetsu tried easing his breath as he focused as much as he could on the guy, not even listening to the bet requests anymore. The guy approached him calmly, if with this blazing look in his eyes…he seemed…excited, even a bit eager about this fight. Kotetsu didn’t let the teasing look mock him, and he put his arms up in time to block a couple of hits. He dodged and moved around, and counterattacked a couple times. He landed a hit, but three were blocked and two missed. He blocked a couple, the guy threw in some punches quickly, then slowed down, Kotetsu took the opening, he missed a hit- the guy knocked his fist away before it could land a hit, and took the opening to punch Kotetsu on the face two times in a row with that great strength of his.

Two hits were enough for Kotetsu to stagger backwards and see a couple stars. He shook his head, not sure what was greater, the dizziness, or the shock that this was the first time since he could remember that someone made him feel dizzy out of a hit. However, before he could recover, the guy was already on him. Kotetsu barely managed to put his arms up, when the guy was already pushing aside his poor attempts of hits, and hit him again, the crowd letting gout a collective groan at the sight alone.  
_Someone that won’t stop at the five million offer to kill you._

Kotetsu fell against the crowd, a hand to his head. The crowd pushed him back in without much time to recover, so he staggered to a side, hoping to move away from the guy’s line of attacks, and he shook his head to try to focus again. He breathed quickly and tried to keep it calm as he put his fists up, and barely dodged another hit. He tried throwing in some punches, but the guy, almost effortlessly, suddenly locked a chain of punch after punch on Kotetsu, across his chest, belly, and face; one, two, three, four, and the fifth made Kotetsu stagger back and fall again.  
Okay. Okay, maybe this was a bit too much.

Kotetsu groaned as he started pulling up.  
“O-okay, man, I give up” he announced, an eye closed and feeling his face burn and his body ache. He was properly beaten up enough, he decided. Way more than enough.  
“You give up” the guy repeated in half a question and half a mock. “You give up when _I_ tell you!”

…what?  
_And I won’t fucking **care.**_

Kotetsu’s eyes flew open wide when the guy tried to get on him and throw in a new punch; he managed to move aside only enough, pull back up on his feet and stagger away some steps, turning around as fast as he could to face him, and moved back a bit more, unable to stop shaking, with no balance or strength.  
“Hey, I said it’s enough!” Kotetsu yelled.  
“I’m going to fucking tear you in pieces!” the guy replied and threw himself at Kotetsu again, who had to dodge. 

That wasn’t fair. Kotetsu always stopped when they asked him to, so this guy had to stop, too, if Kotetsu was asking him for it.  
“Hey, he did say it’s enough” he heard someone in the crowd say…but only that. The guy ignored him, and this person just didn’t try again.  
“Six thousand for a broken nose!” someone yelled.  
“Six thousand!” the guy yelled while approaching Kotetsu, tilted the head and smirked. “Guess I’ll have to comply, eh?”  
“I said it’s enough!” Kotetsu said, but the guy ignored him and went to him again. The guy tried to hit him, Kotetsu blocked once, twice- the guy found an opening, slapped him once, and threw a punch to his face hard enough to make the crowd groan again. 

Kotetsu took a moment to recover, covering the hit spot. So this guy was really not going to stop…? He couldn’t be for real. Kotetsu couldn’t win…  
“Six thousand more for a one-punch knock-out!” someone yelled. Kotetsu could hear a few guys throwing in shy reminders that Kotetsu had asked to stop…but when the bet for the knock-out was thrown, people joined in and started cheering and repeating the bet out loud. Kotetsu fixed his gaze on the guy and put his arms up, instantly defensive. They seriously weren’t giving him any other option but win a lost fight…!? Pff, fantastic, just what he needed!

The guy threw himself at Kotetsu again; Kotetsu, deciding that blocking wasn’t a good idea, decided to instead avoid him, moving back and away as much as he could, and, while avoiding him, he tried to think. Shit. Now what? He wasn’t going to stop, for real? So he had to beat him, he just had to find an opening, but…the guy was so strong, Kotetsu’s strength wasn’t doing a thing to him. Maybe he should-  
“Seven thousand for the one hit knock-out!”

Kotetsu could only dodge him a couple times, move back, another step, he blocked a few hits that hurt as bad as if he hadn’t blocked at all, the guy broke through his defense, somehow took an opening, and-  
_Hit._  
Kotetsu felt every last bit of his breath leave his lungs in a groan as he bent in half, eyes wide and unable to feel anything that wasn’t a bolt coming from the hit on his tummy. 

Shaking and unable to move as the pain paralyzed him, Kotetsu barely even had any time to try to just catch a breath when the guy slapped him with the back of his hand, and grabbed Kotetsu by the throat. Kotetsu gagged and choked on nothing. The guy punched him on the face, and tossed him roughly onto the ground.  
Kotetsu stayed still a moment, trying to hurry but only managing to move his hands on shaky arms. He managed to roll onto his tummy and curled slightly, trying to gasp in for air.  
Fuck…god…what was happening?  
Izumo’s cold glare in the dark flashed in his mind again.  
_And when you don’t come home, I’ll just pretend you’re somewhere else._

“So how much for a broken arm!?” the guy yelled from somewhere behind him. Kotetsu tried to recover, but, suddenly, there was a foot on his head pushing him back to the ground; he groaned as his face hit the floor and he tried struggling in vain. The guy grabbed one of his arms while keeping his head down, stretching it backwards. “Fifteen thousand!? Seventeen thousand!?”  
Kotetsu couldn’t make out what the crowd was saying; everyone was yelling, but all different things, one voice drowning the other. There were some voices just generally yelling like always, some that were cheering on the bet, encouraging it, and some that were saying it was enough, to leave him alone, to stop it…but no one did more than that. Said, yelled a bit of that stuff, but didn’t get in between. Didn’t stop him. Nothing but empty words. And, meanwhile, the others kept cheering for the bet.

“Seventeen thousand, yes or no!?” the guy called almost angrily. Someone must have agreed to pay him, because the next thing Kotetsu heard was, “Fuck yeah!”

And while his head tried thinking that it couldn’t be for real, that this only happened in movies, that the guy couldn’t really be this much a psychopath to want to injure him for real, the foot left his head…only for the next thing to feel was a sole slamming down on his stretched arm, right behind the elbow, and then nothing but a blinding, sharp pain.  
Kotetsu yelled as the thundering pain traveled through his body, blinding him. The guy let go and Kotetsu dropped on the floor, squirming a bit and trying to grip his injured arm with his other hand, eyes tightly closed and body shaking, unable to hear anything, see anything, just immersed in the unbearable pain that shocked him.  
His arm- it was not responding and if he managed to move it a bit, everything that it did was send more waves of pain.

Shit- _fuck,_ was this for real…!?

“Nineteen thousand for broken ribs!?” the guy yelled to the crowd, almost like a singer or a politician trying to light aflame the spirits of his followers. And just like that, it worked. At first, Kotetsu heard some guys complaining out loud, louder and more insistent than before, about stopping and leaving him alone, but once more, no one that got in between or got to help. Some were just laughing or expressing amazement, and a few, only a couple, were cheering on the bets. It was clear that it was a very, very selected minority that wanted this to keep going…but the rest, despite being vast majority, did nothing. No other time before had made a statement clearer to Kotetsu; being neutral was choosing the bad guys’ side, after all, huh…? “Who’s in for it!? Who’s in for it!? Come on, nineteen thousand and I break his fucking ribs!”

Kotetsu tried rolling around , still paralyzed by the pain, teeth gritted and eyes shut tight, hand holding his useless, aching arm.  
For a moment, all that he thought was Izumo and all his reprimands.  
Shit…fuck…Izumo was right…!

Before he could recover, the guy finished turning him around roughly with a foot, and then put a sole on his chest, pressing down. Kotetsu could only groan out loud.  
“These fights are always so fucking boring” the guy said and spat next to Kotetsu’s head. “I’m going to spice it up like you people never do!” he applied more pressure to Kotetsu’s chest until Kotetsu properly yelled and let go of his arm to try to get a hold of the guy’s ankle. “Twenty thousand for broken ribs, anyone!?”

Kotetsu opened his eyes and tried to ask him to stop, but he could just gasp in. A few guys still tried to tell the guy to stop, but no one did anything yet. The same very few from before cheered on him. The majority just…stared.  
“Twenty three!”  
“Twenty three!” the guy yelled at whoever threw the bet. “Sold!”

And without even giving Kotetsu the tiniest chance to open the mouth, the guy started stomping down on his chest. Kotetsu roared out as he was kept down, a foot slamming down over and over on him, falling down on him with the weight of a boulder with every hit.  
“I’m going to break all your fucking bones, you fucking ass!” the guy yelled, no longer threatening and now just plain out humiliating him, as he stomped on him over and over and over. Kotetsu couldn’t hear anything but a blur of noises and yelling, couldn’t see but glimpses of the foot coming down, and felt nothing but the heavy pain of lash after lash, every hit hurting deeper and worse. 

In his mind, he could only scream _Stop! Stop!!_ over and over, but no one listened, no one stopped the guy, everybody was watching this guy stomp on him after having broken his arm and no one was getting in between, no one was stopping him, no one did a thing…!  
“So how much if I kill him!?” the guy yelled as he stopped for a moment, looking around. Kotetsu’s heart skipped a beat. _What?_ “Eh!? How much if I kill him!? Are you all pussies? You all scared of watching someone die!? Come on! How much for his life!?”

Kotetsu stayed down on the ground, shaking and trying to catch a breath. He managed to half open the eyes, not even knowing what part of his body hold anymore. Everything hurt, everything felt as if pierced by giant needles buried in his every spot, hurting with just existing, hurting worse with every shaky breath.  
“…forty thousand” some voice called from among the crowd, timid, hesitant of its own offer, but loud enough to be heard.  
Izumo’s cold glare.  
_And I won’t fucking care._  
“Sold!”

…it couldn’t be real.  
“You’re done, fucker” the guy yelled at him as he stomped on him one more time, before straddling him, his knees at each side of Kotetsu. He grabbed him by the hoodie’s chest and lifted him off the ground a little, roughly. “I’m going to buy a whore with the money I get out of you!”

…it couldn’t be real.

The guy’s fist slammed down on his face, as he let go of Kotetsu’s clothes, making him drop. Kotetsu’s head spun around with that hit, but he managed to clear his sight just enough.  
And just in time to see as the guy reached into a pocket of his pants, took out knuckles brasses, put them on his hand, closed his fist, and the last thing Kotetsu saw clearly was as that fist went down on him and slammed onto his nose.

Kotetsu jumped in place as the sharp pain lashed his head and entire nervous system, travelling through his body like an earth-breaking wave, losing sight for a moment as he saw stars, and nearly losing his senses. He couldn’t recover when the sharp metal slammed with brute force against his nose again, and then again, and again. He heard the crowd roar out; a few in cheers, a few complaining, and most just, once more, watching with morbid curiosity and doing _nothing._  
A couple guys tried approaching them this time, tried pulling the guy away, saying things about weapons not allowed. The guy, however, pushed them away, grabbing Kotetsu by the hoodie again, and slammed his brass against Kotetsu’s face again, once more right on the bridge of his nose.

Kotetsu couldn’t see more than blurry sights and stars. The voices became distant and confusing. His face _burnt._ It burnt like it was on fire; burnt with flames that felt nearly real, and the fire kept spreading, from the bridge of his nose to the sides. A moment later, he felt a drop of something land on his ear, coming from his own cheek.  
The guy kept punching him on the face, both metal and fist hitting him.

…forty thousand yen…  
…his life…was worth forty thousand yen…

Kotetsu reached a point of pain where he stopped yelling. He nearly stopped feeling the pain; he could feel every hit that landed, the cold, sharp metal burying on his burning, bleeding face, his nose being torn apart with it, but it was just…so much that it turned him numb. He felt the guy on him, the yelling around, the fist hitting his face over and over…but he stopped caring. All the noise, the smell of blood, the burning face, the metal, the guy on him, Kotetsu suddenly just…disconnected.  
Because, for a moment, all that Kotetsu could see was Izumo. 

Izumo…

Kotetsu wasn’t even thinking about all the things that Izumo nagged him about, or all the things he had predicted. Not anymore. He didn’t see an angry Izumo yelling at him to stop this, or an angry Izumo telling him everything that was wrong with this. He didn’t see an angry Izumo calling him names, arguing with him, or an angry Izumo telling him that this would happen, an angry Izumo saying ‘I told you’.  
He could just…see…his smile. 

_‘Kotetsu!’_ a smiling, happy Izumo called him, turning around and waving a hand. 

The guy kept hitting him, over, and over, and over. Kotetsu couldn’t feel half his face at this point, and could barely see as the guy punched him.

 _‘I’m happy you’re happy, Kotetsu’_ Izumo said with the cutest, sweetest smile at him, and with his warm gaze, of those wonderful, beautiful eyes, looking only at him…

The guy was yelling something at him, but Kotetsu couldn’t hear. Blood ran down his face and tears down his eyes to his temples and bloodied cheeks.

Izumo’s…gentle, soft hands touching his face, holding it, just barely, a chaste touch…  
_‘Kotetsu…’_

Izumo…  
Izumo and his easy, sweet smile…Izumo and his beautiful hair, colored like the sweetest chocolate, Izumo and his beautiful, round, warm eyes…Izumo and that beautiful curve of his lips when he smiled, that smile that brightened the look on his face, that smile that made him look so cute…Izumo and his hands, the sensation of them on his face, holding him dearly, holding him sweetly…  
Izumo…  
Dear Izumo…

_…I’m so sorry…_

Kotetsu closed his eyes and started crying tears that had nothing to do with the blazing, sharp pain that numbed his body.  
Dear Izumo…  
…at least he wouldn’t care, maybe not even notice, that Kotetsu was not coming home tonight…

“Had enough!? Huh!? Huh!?” the guy was yelling at him as he kept slamming his armed fist on his face. “Die already, scum, I need that money!!”  
Kotetsu couldn’t reply, barely had any sense at all even though he could hear clearly. The crowd was still yelling, either in amazement, the very few that were cheering, the few that were complaining without doing anything.  
“Die!” a hit. Izumo’s sweet smile. “Die!” a hit. Izumo’s gentle voice. “Die!!”  
_Izumo._

“Eighty thousand if you leave him alone!!”

The hits stopped almost instantly. For a moment, everything was too quiet. All the yelling and noises faded a bit too suddenly, and there was some sort of tension. Kotetsu stayed thrown on the ground, head spinning around, entire body ablaze like a thousand ice stakes impaling him, face bloodied and nose destroyed, eyes closed.  
The voice made his stomach shrink. He tried opening his eyes, despite the blurry, moving, starry sight. 

…oh…no…

The guy stood back up, holding Kotetsu from the hoodie and pulling him up with himself. Kotetsu’s head hung back, eyes closed, and breath shaky and shallow.  
The guy, with Kotetsu in a hand, looked over his shoulder into the crowd, to look for whoever had doubled the price for a stupidly simple request. Everyone in the crowd turned to look as well.  
“… _what?”_ the guy asked in a bark, looking ready to beat the hell out of whoever had thrown that bet if it was a prank.  
“…eighty thousand if you leave him alone.”

Kotetsu’s heart skipped another beat.  
_…oh, no…_

“Are you for real?” the guy asked. 

In the crowd, Izumo nodded.

The guy stayed quiet for a bit more again. After a moment, he eyed Izumo shamelessly from head to toe, and then glared at him for a moment, trying to figure out how serious he was. Izumo kept eye contact with him, breath a little shaky but trying to conceal it. Everyone in the crowd stared at him.  
“…why?” the guy asked and shook Kotetsu in his grip like he was but a rag doll to toss around. “I’m having _fun.”_  
“Do you want the fucking money, or not?” Izumo asked, daring. “Eighty thousand, but leave him alone.”

The guy eyed him again…and, then, he started smiling. There was a longer pause as the guy eyed Izumo again, smile turning smarter and bigger until he was smirking and giving Izumo a look that was almost recognition.  
“Okay” he said and let go of Kotetsu; Kotetsu fell and hit his head, letting out a pathetic whine as he moved only a tiny bit in his spot, his good hand trying to reach up for his burning, bleeding face. The guy turned around properly and started approaching Izumo. Once he was a few steps away, he slowed down and looked down on Izumo. “That is… _if_ you have the money…?”

Izumo stared back only for a moment, and then, breath still shaky and nervous, he nodded. He swallowed visibly and pulled out his wallet with shaky hands he couldn’t help.  
Everyone around him stared closely, a few gasping, as Izumo took out the entire price in cash.  
“There” Izumo said as he offered the bills to the guy, looking elsewhere, frowning. “Now leave.”  
“You know, eighty sounds a little… _short”_ the guy said and looked down at Izumo again with a big smile. Izumo glared back at him, but the clear disadvantage was obvious, and it had nothing to do with the height difference. Izumo looked clearly shaken…and a second look at him gave him away as someone from not around the neighborhood. The guy took in a breath. “A hundred thousand.”  
“Okay…” Izumo said lower than he intended. 

The guy took his hand that held the wallet a bit too roughly and pulled it up, looking inside.  
“You don’t have the rest” the guy snarled at him. Izumo swallowed and stared for a moment. He pulled his hand away, but couldn’t manage to hold eye contact.  
“I don’t…have it on me, but if you come with me to the nearest ATM, I can…” but the guy cut him off by laughing.  
“So that you can what? Call the cops?” the guy asked and shook his head with a smart, smug grin. “You pay me now or I go on.”

Izumo stared back with an angry but hesitant look. He looked like there was nothing that would please him more than beat the hell out of this guy…but he remained on a submissive attitude. It was the only thing he could do. It was the only and right thing he could do. If he showed himself…too sassy, too responsive like he usually was…the guy would just go back to Kotetsu. There was nothing that angered these people more than being challenged. So Izumo just…lowered his head and kept the voice as gentle as he could.  
“I…” he whimpered, a bit pathetically. For a moment, no one said a thing.  
“So you don’t have the rest on you” the guy said. Izumo didn’t reply, nose shrugging up along his frown of worry as he looked away. After a bit, the guy nodded towards him. “But I bet you have a nice phone.”

Izumo didn’t reply at first. His frown of both anger and concern trembled as did the rest of his body.  
Silently, he reached into his pocket, took his phone out, and handed it to the guy.

Kotetsu, thrown on the floor, unable to get a look or pull himself up, and only able to hear distantly, felt his stomach shrink and his heart break a little. They were basically robbing Izumo.  
Because of him.

“Your shoes are nice, too” the guy said with a smug smirk once he had received the bills and the phone. Izumo looked up at him with an exasperated look…but still hesitant, and shaken. Without saying more, Izumo subdued and went down to his feet to take his sneakers off.  
Kotetsu, in his spot, closed the eyes and felt everything inside him wrench. Now they were just…humiliating Izumo for fun.  
Because of him…  
_No, Zumo…_

Izumo stood back up, avoiding eye contact and keeping the head just low enough, and offered the guy his sneakers. The guy smirked at him and waited, almost as if testing if Izumo was really not going to look up, and, when he saw it was the case, he chuckled and took the shoes.  
“’Kay, then, faggot” the guy said as he handed someone else the shoes without looking, not even caring about them. “Enjoy what’s left of your boyfriend” and before giving Izumo time to do anything, the guy put the chunk of bills up in the air for everyone to see. “Drinks are on me tonight, you, idiots! We’re having a bastardous blender!” 

The cheer from the crowd was _absurd._ Kotetsu laid on the ground, sight blurry and full of stars, fading, entire body aching, arm broken, chest turned to needles burying into his lungs, and face burning in hellfire, nose massacred, and the people were cheering for fucking _beer._  
“Last to get to the bar gets nothing!” the guy said and so he walked away quickly, excited, bumping into Izumo at the first step; Izumo bumped back and, as the crowd cheered and started hurrying after the guy, Izumo was the only one hurrying in the opposite direction.

Avoiding people, bumping into four different shoulders, and making his way against the flow, Izumo finally managed to get to the center of the crowd, and quickly dropped down on hands and knees above Kotetsu, hovering over him, gently holding his head, his own hovering over it as the people stampeded around them. The slight touch on his head sent a new wave of blinding pain through Kotetsu’s body, making him lose sight for a moment, but his heart beat fast in bitter warmth. Some people, careless and not looking down at the people thrown on the floor, accidentally bumped into Izumo with knees and shins, but Izumo didn’t move. He didn’t even make a sound, like he didn’t even notice, unmovable. 

Once the crowd was at the doors and each second getting further away, Izumo let go of Kotetsu’s head and moved up.  
Kotetsu couldn’t see him, but he heard a shy little sniffle.

Izumo, straddling him but making sure to not sit on him as to not injure him further, put a hand to his mouth as he stared at Kotetsu, now from up close. Izumo, in dark, sporty, casual clothes to go unseen, bandana as he liked it…shoeless, crying above Kotetsu.  
Here.  
Caring.

“Hey, dude, uh…”  
Izumo looked up. A few guys had stayed behind, clearly shocked and genuinely shaken, staring at the bloodied, nasty picture Kotetsu was, and back at Izumo, not much better with wide eyes of panic that were already red and kept crying. The guys that had stayed were only four. Only four, from among the entire crowd.  
“We’ll…we’ll call an ambulance, eh?” the guy continued. Izumo looked at him, a pair of tears rolling down his cheeks; he tried cleaning them, sniffled, and nodded. “Okay, we’re…going out for better reception, bro, we’ll call it, promise.”

Maybe Izumo didn’t know some dirty tricks in street fighting, but he wasn’t dumb. He knew they weren’t coming back. As soon as the ambulance arrived, they could be interrogated and get hooked in an ugly situation to explain what happened. But, at least, Izumo trusted they would at least make the phone call. So, cleaning his nose, he nodded again.  
“Okay, dude, we’ll be back” the guy said as he looked back at another who nodded and was already pressing a phone to his ear. With that, the four guys gestured at each other, and they all hurried outside, at first walking, and soon enough hurrying too much to really mean it about staying.  
It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter, Izumo just needed that phone call.

Kotetsu’s senses came back after the last wave of lighting had traveled his system and finished. He opened the eyes as best as he could, sight blurry in pain and tears, covered in white and black dots that didn’t let him see. He tried focusing through the blazing pain, tried to look at Izumo, who was moving off him but stayed close. He could manage to see as Izumo took off his bandana and hurried to, gently, fearfully, press the cloth to his massacred nose.  
Kotetsu jumped at the bolt of pain from the tiniest touch to the injury. He closed the eyes, not in pain, but in shame, in embarrassment, in guilt.  
_No, Izumo…the dark blue bandana is your favorite…_

After he had ridden the wave of pain as best as he could, Kotetsu half-opened the eyes again and tried to look for his dear friend. Kotetsu followed the tiny, miserable noises of sniffling and shy hiccupping. Izumo moved around him until he knelt behind Kotetsu’s head. He took his head as gently as he could from underneath, lifting it only ever so slightly to slide his knees underneath, and laid Kotetsu’s head on his lap, only enough. Kotetsu remained thrown on the floor, body shaking and unmoving, broken arm set in an awkward, unnatural position, and trying to open the eyes as best as he could with poor success.  
“…’zumo…”  
“I’m so sorry, Kotetsu” Izumo said in a pathetic whimper, through sniffles. Kotetsu tried to see him, but he could only be content with a silhouette. “I’m so sorry, Kotetsu, I should’ve intervened earlier, I sh-should’ve…I should have…”  
“…Izumo…” Kotetsu called again, head turning slightly, and entire body screaming as soon as he did. He closed the eyes and swallowed, not sure what to do or not do to ease the sensation of being on fire and pierced by a thousand swords all at the same time. “’Zumo…”  
“I’m sorry, Kotetsu…” Izumo continued crying, as he tried, as gently as he could, to press the bandana across Kotetsu’s face, covering injured cheeks, and the destroyed bridge of his nose. “I’m so sorry, it’s my fault you came here tonight, I could’ve stopped you weeks ago but I insisted on insulting you and making you mad and making you mad made you continue come here, a-and I’m…”

“Zumo…no…” Kotetsu breathed out and tried to shake the head, only to regret the tiniest movement, having to close the eyes and wait as he tried to breathe through the pain, found out breathing put him through more of it, and struggled to find a point in between. His working hand tried to move to look for Izumo somehow; his hand, his face, even just a leg, anything, but he could only move it a few centimeters before his strength drained. “I’m sorry, Zum…I’m…so sorry…”

By response, he could only hear more of Izumo’s shy sniffles and hiccups as he cried. Kotetsu’s heart wrenched. He didn’t…like it when Izumo cried. It was so rare, it was shocking every time, and horrible. And knowing himself culprit behind all of what Izumo had to be suffering right now…knowing he was the idiot for whom Izumo was crying weeks worth of silent pain…  
A pair of tears that had nothing to do with his physical pain rolled down Kotetsu’s temples.  
“I’m so sorry, Zumi…” he managed to whisper through his dry throat. “…’m sorry…it’s all…my fault…”

God. Dear god, how had he been so blind…? How had he been so blind to his own stupidity, and deaf, and oblivious and ignorant…? How could he really not see everything that was wrong with this? God…this felt so stupid now. So awfully obvious, and so terribly stupid…Kotetsu had nothing but a burning need to tell Izumo everything. He wanted to apologize, more than anything. Apologize all the times that were needed, even if it took all night. Apologize for taking up on this…stupidity. Apologize for hiding it, for lying about it. Apologize for snapping at him, for arguing, for not working out his own anger out of pride, for waiting for Izumo to apologize first, good god, like they were seven year olds arguing over stolen cookies or some immature, stupid shit like that. Apologize for being jealous. He shouldn’t have been. Izumo being happy was priority, it didn’t matter if it wasn’t with Kotetsu…apologize for coming here tonight.  
Apologize for making him come here, too.  
Apologize for making him cry.  
And he wanted to tell him…he wanted to tell him…

“Kotetsu” Izumo called. Kotetsu realized his eyes were closed, so he tried blinking them open, taking in a sharper breath like he had been falling asleep and was coming back awake. “It’s…it’s okay, ‘Tetsu, I’ve got you…” Izumo sniffled and let go of Kotetsu’s face only for a bit to clean his own, even though new tears replaced the old ones, rolling down his cheeks. “You’ll be okay, but stay awake with me…yes?”

The question was almost miserable. That little ‘yes?’ was so desperate, barely a thread of a voice in a fearful whimper. Izumo…had to be…very, very concerned. And scared. Scared…  
And it was all Kotetsu’s fault…

Kotetsu closed the eyes and sighed.  
“…’m sorry…Zumi…” he tried. Izumo shook the head and caressed his hair with a trembling and scared hand.  
“It’s okay, Ko, don’t think about that” Izumo tried whispering through his cracked voice, and even though it was clear he wanted to sound gentle, he couldn’t stop crying. “We were both idiots and this isn’t our fault, okay?”

Kotetsu tried opening his eyes and stare back, but he continued seeing blurry and dark and all these little dots. No. No, he didn’t agree with that. This was entirely his fault and Izumo shouldn’t be involved in this. God, how much Kotetsu wished Izumo was snuggled up against whoever he was hanging out with lately, happy, calm, in a cozy, warm, boring apartment…instead he had…pushed Izumo to be…here. In this…cold, dusty, dangerous place, crying, shaking, sobbing, and cleaning the face of a bloodied, broken, beaten up moron that could barely breathe.  
God…  
What an idiot he was…

“…’Tetsu” Izumo called again, and Kotetsu realized he had been dozing off. He tried to blink the sleepiness away, and tried focusing his sight with poor luck again. Fuck, each second spent awake was but another second of agony. His chest, his limbs, his face, his head, everything hurt at the same time, all in different ways, and all making his entire body feel ablaze. “Tetsu, talk to me…”

Talk to him? Well, yes, that was what Kotetsu wanted, too. Because he had to apologize and tell him all of this.  
“…I…” but, once more, his energy failed. Kotetsu tried to force himself to take the words out, to no success. His healthy hand twitched and moved a little, and he tried breathing, but it only made him choke on nothing, breathlessly, pushing the needles into his lungs and making him see stars again, until his sight got even blurrier and more confusing, and he lost senses for a second.  
“Tetsu!” Izumo became more insistent. Kotetsu blinked himself awake again, and tried to look for his friend once more. Izumo stayed quiet for a bit, and then, like he had had an idea but wasn’t confident on it, he said, “Okay…okay, keep going” a sniffle. “Apologize more.”

Oh…okay…yes, that was what Kotetsu wanted, he wanted…and more, he had so much to tell him, so he should…tell him. He just had to…speak. It was easy. He did this daily. He just had to…speak…yeah. Kotetsu tried to swallow again, and tried to push the words out. It took…more effort than it should have.  
He could vaguely feel Izumo’s tender hands…one on the cloth on his face, and the other reaching fearfully for his hair.  
As soon as Izumo’s angel hand gave the first caress to his hair, Kotetsu couldn’t help but close the eyes and lean a bit into it, letting out a breath.  
“Kotetsu!” 

Kotetsu forced himself to open the eyes again.  
“Keep talking…” Izumo whimpered in a thread of a voice. He sobbed and reached up to try to clean his cheeks and his nose with his sleeves, before returning his hands to Kotetu’s hair and face. “Keep talking, Kotetsu…”

It took a while. Kotetsu tried to take air in, and had to ride wave after wave of pain, like every vein had become spiked wires and every pore a bundle of bolts.  
“I…” Kotetsu tried breathlessly. He swallowed and tried again, but only managed a few stutters. “I’m sorry…for…”  
“…yeah?” Izumo asked after the pause had grown a bit too long. He sniffled and insisted. “Why are you sorry, Kotetsu?”  
“For…” _for everything, of course._ Kotetsu let out a tiny breath and his eyelids fluttered. “…and I…” _want to tell, you, Izumo…I want to tell you that I-_  
“Kotetsu” Izumo called again, a hand on Kotetsu’s cheek where it wasn’t injured, to very, very gently pat him, only enough to shake him back awake. “Kotetsu, keep talking to me…”

For a moment, Kotetsu felt slightly annoyed, which made him feel guilty. Yes, yes, talk to him, that was what Kotetsu was doing…or trying to do, but Izumo wouldn’t shut up insisting that he spoke, he meant, yes, maybe he was a bit dizzy and a bit lost, and his sight blurry and darker than a few minutes ago, and his eyelids so, so heavy…and his mouth so numb…and his face on fire, and his body covered in invisible stakes that pierced his every pore…but…he was speaking…right? Talking wasn’t so hard, he just…he just had to…

He blinked and breathed back away when he felt Izumo’s hands gently patting his face again.  
“Kotetsu!”  
Yeah, Izumo, it’s okay, Kotetsu wasn’t dying, he was just…in a lot of pain, the greatest he had gone through in his life, yes, but it was okay…it was okay…he was okay, and it wasn’t like he was dying. Right? If this had been enough to kill him, he would have died already, pain didn’t kill slowly…did it? Nah, that was…nah…  
“Kotetsu” a sob and a hiccup. “Kotetsu, apologize to me…!”

Yes, he was trying, it was just…Kotetsu wasn’t taking _that_ long at speaking. Was he?  
He tried opening the mouth. His jaw hurt like a fucker. And his chest. And his…well…his limbs, not really. They were more like…absent. And his face. _God,_ his face hurt so much…was he going to be able to have a nose after this? Was this going to leave him deformed…?  
Wait. No. What was he thinking? He had a priority, he still hadn’t…apologized to Izumo. Ah, yes. He had to apologize. And he also had to tell him…there was something…more important…what was it…?

“…tetsu! Ko…!” huh. Funny how Izumo’s voice came and went like that… “Kote…! Kotetsu…!” and Kotetsu had to blink back awake, taking in a sudden gasp that only made him cough slightly, which sent him into a new wave of uncontrollable, sharp pain. Oh, okay, maybe he _was_ falling asleep, okay, he just had to…stay awake. “Kotetsu!” Izumo’s voice, distant and echo-y, called for him among little sobs. “Don’t you dare close your eyes, Kotetsu, stay awake! Stay awake, Kotetsu! Kotetsu! Kotetsu!!”

Kotetsu could feel Izumo gently patting his face again, a bit more insistent without hurting him, calling for him.  
Yes, Izumo, he was trying, he really was trying, it wasn’t like Kotetsu wanted to sleep, he was trying to stay awake and tell you…and tell you so many things, he was…  
Kotetsu let out a little sigh, and tried with all his might to keep his eyelids open as they fluttered slowly, only to end up closing.  
“Stay awake!! Kotetsu!!”

He was trying, Izumo, he really was trying…it was…just that…

…


	13. Chapter 13

Kotetsu wasn’t awake or aware of the events of most of the rest of the night.  
An ambulance did arrive. Izumo gently moved Kotetsu’s head off his lap to allow the medics to take him on the gurney. Izumo followed them, on shoeless feet, and was allowed with them.  
The emergency room, the night-shift doctors and nurses. Immediate diagnosis, commands and requests, bring me this kind of medicine, that kind of tool, there’s no neck injury, prepare the X-ray room. Izumo unable to sit despite patiently waiting nearby as they patched Kotetsu up. Watching needles and thread, bandages, patches of all kinds, little bottles of medicine. So many paper towels full of blood. Being left alone when Kotetsu was taken away to other rooms. 

A cop approaching Izumo and asking him to sit down. Talked about what happened. Half-lied about not knowing why Kotetsu had gone there or what that place was, be honest when describing the attacker. No, I don’t know his name. No, they didn’t have any kind of relationship from before. Yes, he’s who took my shoes. Yes, he also took my phone. Thank him for the handkerchief, be a little embarrassed because he wasn’t crying anymore so he could only wonder how red his cheeks and/or eyes had to be for the cop to still offer it. He offers his phone, I would appreciate that very much, sir. Phone Iruka. Cry a bit more because Iruka’s voice has that effect even when he only says ‘Hello?’. The handkerchief now has a purpose again. Explain, apologize for the bother this late at night, but can you please give me a hand, I can’t do this alone. Iruka says yes. Cry a bit more because he’s just such a good friend that Izumo knew that Iruka knew he needed more the support and hug than the car. 

The nice officer came back with a pair of spare boots from his car, said Izumo could keep them. Cry a bit more because how are some people so kind. Thanked him a couple times more, said goodbye.  
Got called by the doctors, went to get a look at the results. A concussion? How does it, how do I…help him with that…oh, okay. Yes. Five broken ribs? Really…? Is he…is he in pain, does this require surgery? Okay…the broken arm, how will this proceed, does it require surgery or can this heal on its own, too? I see…his broken nose…it looks so bad. He’s so beaten up. So badly beaten up. But he’s alive, right? He’s going to be okay? Yes, he’s just badly beaten up, rest and medicine will do all the job. His nose, will it…oh yes, his nose will be fine, maybe he’ll just have a runny nose for a while but it’s fine. Oh, okay. So many bruises across his torso and arms, he’s like a canvas with universes on him, except they look…so painful. Is this infected, why does it have that color? Is he in pain? He’s not in pain, is he, I…oh, okay. I’m sorry. I’m…I guess it’s not as bad as it looks, right? I’m just…I’d never seen someone like this and I’m scared that…yeah, yeah I’m just…not used to this. 

Spend a moment just looking at Kotetsu…the bandages and patches, the injuries left uncovered, his closed eyes and his easy breath…his eyes, closed so softly and gently, like he was only taking a nap. So peaceful…  
Take his hand, ever so gently, into one of his own. Hold it dearly. Longingly. 

Sat down to make sure he wasn’t missing anything. Only rest and medicines, the doctors insist. This looks really bad but it doesn’t go beyond a fight’s consequences. Yes, but, anything else? Is there something he can’t eat? Will he have any kind of sequels from the concussion, or is there any danger of infection somewhere, how do I…how do I treat him correctly? Do we need to come back again, in how long, what for? Any special kind of care, any particular thing he needs to be aided with? Is he…is he in pain? Oh, okay, medicines, yes. All the info that was necessary. He could choose whether to stay for the night or leave, the only difference would be taking the IV from him, but it wasn’t that necessary, medicine would do.  
Home. I want to take him home… 

Stayed there for a while more, just gently rubbing Kotetsu’s bruised hand. It twitched once. Kotetsu even woke up for a bit, not really aware, and mumbled a few things. He was confused, didn’t make sense, could barely just mutter, and he was probably going to forget whatever he spoke those few minutes of consciousness. Izumo gently replied to all his nonsense, even chuckled once to reassure him. There was a ghost of a smile on Kotetsu’s lips at the sound, and he was fast asleep again.  
Iruka arrived.  
He too had a pair of spare shoes for Izumo.

The ride to Izumo’s and Kotetsu’s place was rather silent, except for the once Iruka apologized in case the car stunk of his boyfriend’s million dogs. It’s okay, Izumo had said. I like dogs, too. An unnecessary comment, with the voice a little raspy, and still very fragile from crying. Other than that, there was no conversation. Iruka didn’t nag them like he always did. He didn’t rage at them, didn’t seem disappointed, he didn’t even ask a thing. He did like only he and his empathy the size of the galaxy knew; he saw two broken guys, and merely took them under his wing without a question, because he needed none, even when they could be easily, sometimes rightfully blamed. Iruka was great at nagging when necessary…but he also knew when it would only do further damage.

Izumo sat on the back of the car, with Kotetsu’s head on his lap. He spent the way home only…looking at and touching his face. Avoiding the bandages, patches and bruises, but touching his face. Unable to not want to touch his face. Only a tender touch, a slow, slow caress on his cheek, a slow, slow stroke of his forehead. Any time his hand let go, Kotetsu, in his sleep, searched for it again. Izumo would blink gently, with the same sad stare from before, and let his hand go back to Kotetsu’s cold, soft, injured skin.

Called for Kotetsu when they were home, because, even though Izumo would be confident at carrying him, he needed him to move a bit, first. Help me to help you, Ko. It’s only a few seconds, yes? We’re home. We are home. Let me take you home. Kotetsu mumbled something, and became a bit aware, if barely able to open the eyes. He tried to sit up. Went back down. It hurts, Zumi. I know it does. You can do it. Here, hug me by the neck with your good arm…I’ll help you sit up, okay? Like that. Hugged him back to get a hold of him. Closed the eyes for a moment, only, and took in a breath of Kotetsu’s hair and the crook of his neck. There was the vague scent of sweat, vague scent of blood and dirt, and a more obvious scent of alcohol from the hospital. It was a horrible mix that Izumo took in deeper again, never in his life more relieved. Tightened his hug on him, arms around Kotetsu, gently holding his back. I’ve got you, Ko. You’re okay.

Iruka helped him to get Kotetsu on Izumo’s back. Kotetsu mumbled something but was fast asleep as soon as Izumo stood up. Walked to the apartment, still in silence. Iruka helped him open the doors, put Kotetsu down, change him into the baggiest and most comfortable pajamas they could find. It had to be one of Izumo’s, what with Kotetsu only owning tank tops and sweatpants while Izumo had the soft sleepwear. Saw the many, awful bruises all over his body. A last little stroke to his face. 

Walked out of his room, went to the main area, thanked Iruka, pretended it was all fine. Except Iruka knew it was not all fine. One of Iruka’s hands on his shoulder and his sweet, sad smile were enough.  
I thought they were going to kill him. 

And finally break down crying, not out of fear, like back in the warehouse, or out of stress like in the hospital. A proper breakdown, for nearly everything; all the bottled up anger, the hurt, the distance, the broken friendship, the warehouse events, watching Kotetsu in that poor state. How could I be so selfish, how could I be so dumb, why couldn’t I be better to avoid this. How could I let him lead himself to this, it was so obvious and I let him and they almost kill him. I know it’s not my fault, but I can’t help feel like this. All my life all I’ve wanted is to protect him, and look at him, Iruka. Look at him, he’s in such a bad state, he must have suffered so much and I can’t do anything about it. All I’ve ever wanted is to see him safe and happy and I led him to this, Iruka, my poor Kotetsu, my poor Kotetsu…I wouldn’t need to heal him if I hadn’t let him get hurt in the first place, my god, Iruka, what did I do, what did I do. And I was so mean to him, and I was so rude, and he must have felt so abandoned and angry and hurt and replaced, how could I be so mean to him, why couldn’t I just apologize, I know how impulsive and reckless he is and I did nothing to stop him until it was this late, Iruka…the guy had a knuckle brass and he wouldn’t stop. I yelled the money offer so many times but it took him so long to hear it, I should have just gotten in between to stop him instead of waiting for him to notice me. I thought he was going to die, Iruka, I thought they had killed him, I was so scared, I don’t want Kotetsu to die. I don’t want him to die, Ru, I don’t want him to die…

Iruka spent there as long as Izumo needed to cry for the night, hugging him and letting him tell him all that he had been keeping quiet. I’m sorry for making you stay so late, and awake, Ru, I’m so embarrassed right now, how can I make it up to you, I’m sorry for involving you in this disaster. It’s okay, Zum. You guys pulled me through my own though times, too. I’d do this even if you hadn’t. You’re too nice, Iruka. I’m sorry. I’ll leave for now, but I’ll be back in the morning to check up on you and give you a hand with him, okay? You’re going to be okay? Okay. Try to get some sleep, too. Thank you, Ru, for everything. 

Iruka left. Izumo tried to go for his room, but he ended up in Kotetsu’s, just…checking him again. Tried to sit at his side, just watched him sleep…but it didn’t make it better. Kotetsu was peacefully asleep, but…god, he was so bruised and hurt. Bandages and patches on his face and arm, red and dark bruises and cuts, the broken arm…it all did but add to the guilt and the sadness until Izumo, scared that he would sob and wake Kotetsu up, left the room again.

Unable to sleep, Izumo spent the rest of the night reading the boxes of the medicines, wandering around a little lost in his own home, and, finally, curled up in his cozy spot.

°˖✧°˖✧

Awareness came back and forth like a ship on a wavy ocean. Senses and consciousness messed with him for a time too long until almost annoying him. Kotetsu spent a long while fighting himself and hating the come-and-go of his consciousness until, finally, he swallowed, blinked a couple times, and his blurry, dark sight cleared and focused.  
The first thing he saw was…the ceiling of his room. No warehouse. No giant fighter with a brass knuckle. No hospital, or heaven…it was…the ceiling of his room.  
…his room…

Kotetsu took in a deeper breath and closed the eyes again, trying to finish waking up for real. He swallowed and tried to make sense, until he managed to open his eyes again, a little more aware. Once with the head and sight clearer, he started looking around, slowly.  
His closet. His bedside tables, and his clock and his toys and his things. His clock marking six twenty three a.m. It…really was his room. It was dark. For a moment, it felt…surreal. Like it all had been but a dream and he was coming awake in the middle of the night, sense of time lost and messed up.

Kotetsu tried to sit up. He gagged on a contained groan and laid back down, sighing shakily. Oh…right. His chest…Kotetsu tried taking in a breath and found that it didn’t hurt as he had expected. Then again…he looked down at himself.  
He noticed he had the arm in a cast, in a sling. He stared at it for a while, as if analyzing it. So he had been…patched up. It would explain why it didn’t hurt as he guessed it should, he was probably on medicines. 

Sighing, Kotetsu blinked and saw something from the edge of his sight, down below, on his own face. He tried looking at it, and moved a hand up to touch.  
They had put a square patch on his chin. He let his fingertips drag further up until they found something else. When he felt it, Kotetsu put his fingertips on it, and dragged them across the long cloth, figuring out what it was and trying to see how far it went; crossing a cheekbone, up the bridge of his nose, and to the other cheekbone, disappearing to the back of his head, they had wrapped a single bandage. It was soft, and probably hid proper patches underneath. Ah…yes. His nose…at least he had kept it… 

Kotetsu sighed and swallowed again, feeling awfully thirsty. He turned the head to a side, fingertips still distractedly on the bandage of his face. He looked at some of his belongings, still blinking awake. He kept his eyes on his superhero figurine on the drawer. For a while he did nothing but exist, awake, and try to remember.  
…Izumo. 

With a knot forming in his throat and his stomach shrinking, Kotetsu blinked, and pushed himself to sit up. He hissed and groaned a few times in the way, struggling with only being able to use a hand, until he managed to sit at the edge of his bed. He didn’t even think about looking for slippers or anything, he stood up and tried to immediately head for the door.  
He stopped at the first step, suddenly dizzy, too dizzy. He leaned to a side accidentally, and made his good hand look for support as he sighed and closed the eyes, trying to recover. His head spun around, and while he was on medicines, he could feel his body ache nonetheless. He had to take a good while breathing as calm as he could until his head and sight were good again, and he let go of the wall, heading once more for the door. 

Kotetsu opened his door with the scarce strength he had. The knob gave in only enough, and he slowly opened it. His steps were short and slow, dragging out, but he pushed himself to keep going. He left his room, and looked into Izumo’s room, door open. The bed was made, and Izumo wasn’t there. Kotetsu blinked a little confused, but then walked through the little hallway, slightly bent due to the pain and exhaustion. 

Kotetsu soon reached the main area. He looked into it and soon enough the edge of his sight caught what he was looking for, so he turned.  
Sat on his cozy spot, Izumo had the knees tucked up, and he was staring out the window. Awake, this early. Or…this late…  
Kotetsu felt his stomach wrench and nausea went up his throat. He swallowed and his head lowered. Out of curiosity, he turned to look at the kitchen area.  
There were untouched, cold pancakes with syrup on the table. And, on the stove, a long-ago forgotten pan with cooked vegetables.  
…it all had been just…last night. Some hours ago. God, it felt like it had been days ever since, but it had been some hours ago. The pancakes he never ate.  
And Izumo’s vegetables, not even served…like he had…gone after Kotetsu immediately…

…so he didn’t have dinner.  
Kotetsu’s heart wrenched, and he put his head down once more. A couple tears drowned his eyes for a moment. The worst of it all was that he couldn’t even say that Izumo had gone to bed angry and upset, because it looked like he hadn’t even gone to bed at all…Kotetsu contained a sigh and looked back up to Izumo, and started getting closer again. 

As the sound of the shy, weak steps became clearer, Izumo’s head rose little by little, until he finally turned, a bit too quick. His eyes were dark and red all at the same time, he looked _wrecked._ And, to add to it, there was so much…concern in his gaze. He looked like a mess that had been crying and not sleeping and stressing and worrying for hours without a rest…Kotetsu had to stop in place at the sight alone, heart dropping to his feet.  
“Kotetsu!” Izumo called in a breath, and he was quickly on his feet, going towards him. “Ko, what’s wrong, are you okay?” he reached him, and laid gentle fingertips on his chest, fearfully, like he wasn’t even sure if he could or should touch him. “Are you thirsty? Do you need to go to the bathroom? You shouldn’t get out of bed, Ko, you could just call me and I’ll bring you-”  
“Izumo, no, I’m…” Kotetsu interrupted him as Izumo had taken his hand and walked past him as if to drag him back to the room.

Kotetsu didn’t move from his spot. Izumo had no option but stop and turn around, facing him again with those worried, exhausted, dead eyes. Kotetsu stared at him for a moment. Izumo stared back, trying to search for a clue of what was going on, but getting distracted once more looking at Kotetsu’s injured face. He had an awful, giant red bruise that covered his right eye, temple, and bits of his forehead and cheekbone. He had a little patch above an eyebrow, and stitches on the other. A dark bruise on a cheek, a cut just below. The patch on his chin, and the bandage that crossed his face side to side, across the nose…

Kotetsu noticed the way Izumo stared. He didn’t look disgusted. He didn’t even seem too worried. Mostly, he looked…sad. So profoundly, so heartbreakingly sad. It was clear that it spoke of some guilt, and there was nothing that could have devastated Kotetsu more. He could have stood Izumo’s worry, his disappointment, he could have even carried on fine if Izumo had made fun of him…guilt, however. Izumo’s guilt…Izumo feeling part of the blame for this, when he had done the exact opposite to pushing Kotetsu to this…God. What a terrible friend and person Kotetsu was. 

“Let’s go back to bed, okay?” Izumo said gently and lowly. “You need to rest, Ko”  
Kotetsu shook his head and lowered it. Izumo’s eyebrow twitched and he tried to look for the answer in Kotetsu’s eyes.  
“…Ko?”  
“Izumo, I…” Kotetsu started, eyes down. He closed them and breathed deeply, stopping midways when he realized a breath too deep hurt his chest. “Izumo, I…need to tell you something…”  
“Oh…Kotetsu, it’s okay” Izumo’s shoulders relaxed and he gave Kotetsu a gentle, sad smile. “I know there’s a lot to apologize for, both of us, but we can do it later, yes? I don’t mind, Ko, I really don’t mind, right now your health is priority so let’s go back to your room, I know you didn’t mean-”  
“No…Izumo…” Kotetsu interrupted again, shaking the head. He stood still, his good hand looking for the back of the couch for support. Izumo held his arm and reached close as if ready in case Kotetsu collapsed at any given moment. Kotetsu tried to ease his breath again. Wow, being on his feet was taking a lot of strength and energy, being awake had never been this hard before. He swallowed and looked up at Izumo. “It’s not…it’s not that.”

Izumo stared at Kotetsu with confused, exhausted eyes. Kotetsu kept the head down for a moment, as if arming himself with courage. Kotetsu’s breath was a little shallow, but alright, and he trembled a little, still startled and weak.  
“…Izumo, I have something to tell you and I…can’t go back to sleep until I say it, I physically can’t, so you’ll have to let me tell you before I go back to my bed…”  
“…what is it, Ko?” Izumo asked quietly. Kotetsu let out a sigh and took a moment more before he managed to look back up to Izumo’s eyes again. Now that Izumo was facing the window, despite being such a mess, he still looked so…beautiful, so handsome…with the vague, barely noticeable light of dawn, and the warm light from the streetlamp, warming up his already beautiful, bright eyes…

Kotetsu swallowed one last time, and stared into those eyes, red from crying him, dark from staying awake, and still somehow so full of care.  
“Izumo, I…” Kotetsu started. He sighed and closed the eyes for a bit. “Look, it’s not…the medicines, and it’s not an impulse, this is…this is something I realized…” his voice lowered. “…while I was…getting beaten…” 

Izumo remained quiet. He eyed Kotetsu worriedly a bit, but said nothing. Kotetsu breathed slowly.  
“…Izumo, while I was getting beaten…all I could see was…I…I had kind of an epiphany” he looked up to his friend’s eyes. Izumo stared back, curious and a little worried. Kotetsu’s lips shrugged a bit. “He had me down, he was beating the shit out of me, I should have been thinking of what to do to get out of that situation, or my life or my future or my regrets, but…but all I could think about…” he blinked. “…was _you.”_

Izumo didn’t reply. He still gave him that confused gaze with his exhausted eyes.  
“And I realized that this past month and two weeks have been the worst of my entire life” Kotetsu whispered. “Izumo, my life has never been emptier, darker, sadder, angrier or more senseless than this past month and half that I’ve spent without _you.”_

Kotetsu sighed a little shakily and lowered the head.  
“I was so…hypnotized and…seduced by things and money that I didn’t need that I pushed away what’s most vital to me. I was so deep into…shallow prizes that I didn’t notice I was pushing away the fortune I already had looking for one that I didn’t need…” he took in a deeper breath and looked back up to Izumo’s eyes. “Izumo, I’ve never had so much money like in this past month and half…and, yet, I’ve never felt this…awfully _poor…”_

Realization started dawning in Izumo’s eyes. He looked down when Kotetsu reached close with his good hand and took one of his. Izumo stared at the gentle grip for a moment only, before locking eye contact again. He found Kotetsu’s tired, sad eyes on him, bright, and warm, and dear.  
“Izumo” Kotetsu murmured. “This guy was beating me to death…and all I could see…was _you._ When I was sure I was going to die…my head only went back to you. You and your smile, you and your voice, you and your eyes, you, all you …”

He moved his hand so that he could entwine his fingers into Izumo’s. Izumo’s cheeks turned a soft shade of red and he looked at Kotetsu with equal surprise and confusion.  
“Izumo, what I mean to say is that…” he sighed. “This is maybe the worst confession of history, given that I’m like this and you’re like this, and that I think- I think you’ve-you’ve- …got a date, but…I can’t not say it” he held eye contact and sighed. When he spoke again, his voice was warmer, calmer. “Izumo…I realized…that I was already rich long before this street fighting mess” he brought their hands up, close to his chest. “Izumo… _you_ make me rich. My real fortune…has always been you.”

There was silence afterwards. Both looked at each other saying nothing. Kotetsu gave Izumo tired, embarrassed, and apologizing eyes. Izumo stared back at him with…quite an unreadable gaze. He looked inevitably exhausted, confused…but, a few seconds later, something lit up in his eyes. It was as if though all his energy had come back, as if his soul, having left his body at some point, had returned, breathing life back into him. His previously empty gaze lit up like a pair of stars. At the time his eyes gleamed in acknowledgement and affection, Izumo smiled. He chuckled breathlessly, shortly, his smile grew even more, and before any of them could expect it, he threw the arms around Kotetsu and pulled him into a hug.

“Ow! Ow, Zumi, I-”  
“Oh! Oh, yes, no, I’m so sorry!”  
“-maybe you want to- yeah…no, it’s okay! It’s okay-”  
“-forgot and got carried away and…”  
“-still a little hurt so…” a shared chuckle. “Yeah…”

After having let go during their stuttered mess, Izumo stood close, chuckling a little and moving a hand up to clean his still teary eyes. They shared a little chuckle again. Kotetsu stared at him, enjoying the sight; Izumo’s smile. Tired, his eyes still exposing his horrible night, a little pale, but…finally, smiling again. The Izumo he had missed with every fiber of his soul.  
“…maybe, if we do it like this…” Kotetsu offered in a murmur, getting closer, and softly pressing himself against Izumo, letting his head rest on his shoulder. Izumo’s arms rounded him, but didn’t get a hold at first, trembling a little, unsure, and apparently looking for a good angle, until, finally, he wrapped them around Kotetsu’s hurt frame. Gently. Softly. Soft enough to not hurt him, but enough to feel like a good hug, even if Kotetsu could just get a timid, weak grip of his shirt with one hand. 

They spent a moment in silence, embraced. Izumo turned his head against Kotetsu’s, and took in a little breath of his hair, before pressing a little, shy, careful kiss to his head.  
Kotetsu closed the eyes. He too took in a breath of Izumo’s neck, and felt himself loosen and relax. God…he had never felt so at home as he did right now, like this. Hugged by Izumo. _Held_ in his arms, like only Izumo knew; so gently, so careful. So dear. Kotetsu kept the eyes closed and his grip on Izumo’s shirt tightened. Fuck, if he could use his other arm, and if he wasn’t this weak and injured, he would be squeezing the hell out of this man. The person that made him so happy, and that he had always wanted to make happy. The guy of the beautiful eyes and the beautiful smile and the golden heart. The guy that made him unbearably, immensely rich.  
His fortune.  
His dear, greatest fortune…

After a moment, they broke apart again. Izumo was gently holding him from the arms, letting go only once to sniffle and clean his nose and eyes. Kotetsu eyed him a little worried, not sure why Izumo could yet not stop crying even if it was calmly, but reassured and comforted to see he was still smiling.  
“Thank you, Ko…” Izumo murmured with a big smile. Kotetsu smiled back, tiredly but happy. Izumo chuckled once and cleaned his cheek again with a sleeve. “Ko…you know how we make fun so often of characters in our games and shows because they always wait until one of them is dead or almost dead to confess?” Kotetsu blinked curiously at him. Izumo chuckled. “We have no right to laugh anymore.”

A little startled from seeing Izumo joke in such situation, Kotetsu could only blink at first, but, soon enough, he was snorting and laughing. Izumo joined him and laughed as well, until Kotetsu coughed a bit and started forcing himself to stop. Izumo apologized a couple times for making him laugh when he knew it would only make Kotetsu’s chest hurt, but neither could stop chuckling for a bit. Once they stopped, they stared at each other sweetly only.  
“May I ask, though…” Izumo started, a little embarrassed. “…what do you mean…I have a date?”  
“Oh…” Kotetsu’s smile faded. “I mean…” his cheeks turned a little red. “Now that I say it I feel so stupid because I realize I was just assuming things, but…you started…you know…texting at work, you never do that, and you seemed so excited, and you started going out some days, and…I…one day…I-I didn’t mean to in a bad way, I was arriving to the apartment and you were on the phone so I…eavesdropped a bit and you…you were talking about…you know…someone that…s-…spent the night, and all, so…”

Kotetsu spent some moments just looking away, embarrassed. Izumo stared at him with confused eyes, trying to make sense, until finally his eyes gleamed in recognition.  
“Oh my god, Kotetsu” Izumo said as one of his hands went up to cover his mouth, face turning red. “That was my cousin from Beijing…”  
“…what?”  
“You know he only comes each every two or three years, so that’s why I made the exception of texting at work, and why I’ve been going out so often” Izumo explained, face turning even brighter from behind his hand. “And one day he stayed until very late so I let him stay in my room for the night…”

For a good while, neither did more than stare at each other, frozen, Izumo red like a cherry with a hand to his embarrassed face, and Kotetsu plain paralyzed. That…that made…sense. Yun hadn’t visited in like two years and…it was that time of the year that he had long vacations…  
“…oh.”

After an awkward five seconds of silence, both burst out laughing. Kotetsu curled a little into himself and tried to stop, but he kept laughing against his will. Izumo was trying to tell him to stop, tried to stop himself, but they continued laughing together.  
“God…like I wasn’t moron enough already…” Kotetsu admitted as their laughter eased, his good hand to his aching chest.  
“I should’ve told you, thought, regardless of what our status was” Izumo shook the head. “He’s your friend, too, it was…wrong of me not to tell you he’s around…”  
“It’s okay” Kotetsu shook the head and gave him a reassuring smile. “I understand.”  
“How about I ask him to drop by in the next couple days? He’s still going to be around for a week more.”  
“That would be great. I’ve missed him.”  
“Yeah…”

Both stood in silence for a couple moments, smiling at each other. Kotetsu looked at his friend with a mix of emotions. He really hated to see Izumo like this, so physically and mentally exhausted and drained, a little pale, and a post-crying mess, but he was also…so glad, so relieved, and so full of adoration for him, knowing him dear, knowing him in his life once again…as it should be. Not to say, he admitted to be exhausted, absolutely wrecked himself too, tired, sleepy, aching, dizzy. Izumo, on his part, stared back with just a complex net of emotions as well; the same relief and joy, the same kind of warmth and affection, yet, as exhausted and wasted. He looked at Kotetsu, and, despite the bruises, the patches, the sling and the bandage, he still smiled sweetly at him. However, dear as the moment was, Izumo couldn’t ignore the great, mining exhaustion Kotetsu looked into. 

“Let’s go back to your room, okay?” Izumo murmured as he took Kotetsu’s good hand again. “You need to rest.”  
Kotetsu complied obediently. He nodded softly, and let Izumo take the lead to his room. Izumo walked slow and patiently, waiting along Kotetsu’s slow, aching little steps. Izumo spoke only a bit to tell him what time he had to take medicine, and a few advices to sleep in his current state. 

Once in Kotetsu’s room, Kotetsu sat down at the edge of the bed, and, slowly and with some troubles, he managed to push himself on it until his feet left the floor, and he tried to look, a bit unsuccessfully, for a good angle to lie down without hurting.  
“Y-…you can…hold me by the neck” Izumo suggested as he climbed a bit onto the bed and got close to his friend. “Like back in the car…”  
“Car?” Kotetsu asked. “I don’t remember.”

Izumo explained, so Kotetsu followed, wrapping his good arm around Izumo’s neck. Izumo got closer and got a very gentle hold of him. Kotetsu felt his face burn under the bandage. Little by little, Kotetsu lied down with Izumo’s help, until he was flat on his bed and both let go. Izumo remained hovered over him only for a bit. He too had red cheeks. They shared a little, awkward, but cute chuckle together, and Izumo moved away.  
“You should sleep, too, Zumi” Kotetsu murmured. “You look terrible.”  
“I look good even when I look terrible, mind you” Izumo joked and both chuckled. “Yes…I think I should…” and, after a bit of a pause, staring slightly away, he continued, “Do you…mind if I…”

Izumo never finished the question. It wasn’t necessary. Kotetsu knew him too well; had since forever. With his stomach tickling, Kotetsu smiled at him, and nodded, moving a little more to a side.  
Timidly, unsure, Izumo turned redder and hesitated for a moment, but soon enough he was climbing back on the bed, and lying down at Kotetsu’s side. He moved closer, so, instead of resting his head on a pillow, he lied next to Kotetsu’s chest, but not quite against it or on it, knowing him injured. Kotetsu, glad that Izumo was curled to his good arm side, still reached down for him and carded his fingers through Izumo’s soft hair, sighing and closing the eyes. God, what he would give to squeeze this man to sleep, cuddle him, hug him close, but he had to go and break his body. One day, maybe. 

“Tetsu” Izumo called in a shy murmur. Kotetsu replied with a sleepy hum. “When Yun stayed the night…I lent him my room thinking that I could sleep on the couch…but I ended up here, in your bed…” Kotetsu blinked his eyes open and he looked down at Izumo. Izumo wasn’t looking up, though, he even curled a little more into himself in embarrassment. “It had been two days without you and I…missed you…so much” he sighed. He got a little closer, trying to be as close to Kotetsu as possible, and getting a shy little grip of a bit of his shirt. “Don’t scare me like this ever again, Ko…okay?”

Kotetsu contained a sigh and closed the eyes, bringing Izumo a little closer with his good hand and wishing he could give a kiss to that beautiful hair.  
“Not ever again, Zumi” Kotetsu promised in a whisper. “Not ever again.”

They spent a moment in silence, lying together in the darkness of the room as dawn broke outside. Neither were troubled by the vague dim light peeking through the curtains, too exhausted to even notice.  
“…this is probably the lamest moment to say it, Ko” Izumo murmured sleepily. “But I too had my own epiphany, when I was watching the fight and thought I was losing you…” Kotetsu managed to half open the eyes, not wanting to accidentally fall asleep and not listen. He hummed very quietly in encouragement. “You too make me rich, Ko. And I love you.”

Little by little, slowly and tiredly, Kotetsu started smiling. Exhausted, injured and broken, he smiled.  
“I love you too, Zumi” he whispered as his eyelids fluttered softly. “My fortune…”

And they fell asleep, side by side, wrecked, and never before so complete.


	14. Chapter 14

Kotetsu was looking at his reflection in the mirror, gently dragging a pair of fingertips across the bandage that crossed his face.   
Izumo stopped at the door of his room. Kotetsu was sat at the edge of Izumo’s bed, looking at the large mirror and still touching that bandage. Izumo’s eyebrows furrowed and he smiled a little sadly, leaning against the doorframe and crossing the arms. Kotetsu had been staring at his reflection for the whole week that had passed since the accident, touching that bandage as if it would do something or like trying to test if it had become part of his face. 

Containing a breath, Izumo walked into the room calmly, approaching him. Very gently and carefully, he wrapped his arms around Kotetsu’s shoulders, resting a knee on the bed, next to him, and rested the side of his head on the top of Kotetsu’s, looking at the mirror as well. Kotetsu, not taking the eyes off himself, sighed.  
“How am I going to hide any of this from my mom…?” he asked quietly and sadly. After a moment, he let go of his face to take a grip of Izumo’s arm, in a gesture that returned the hug. Izumo moved back enough, softening the embrace. Kotetsu looked up at him with sad, guilty eyes. Izumo returned a sad crooked smiled.  
“I don’t think we can, baby…” he murmured as he sweetly moved a lock of Kotetsu’s hair away from his face.

Kotetsu hummed quietly and unsure, going back to stare at himself in the mirror, eyebrows furrowed in worry and fingertips going along the bandage.   
“What am I going to tell her?” Kotetsu asked even more sadly. Izumo unwrapped his arms from his shoulders but kept his hands on Kotetsu’s arm, gently rubbing it. Izumo turned to look at Kotetsu in the mirror as well. He blinked calmly and thought. He understood the concern; it was not fear for what his mom would tell him, rather…how she would feel. Telling her that Kotetsu had gone to a street fight gathering, and got beaten to this point until nearly dying…that was quite…not the best thing to tell a loving, worrying mother. 

Izumo sighed.  
“We were robbed and they beat you.”   
“She’ll know it’s a lie because if we had been robbed, we’d have teamed up against the guy and won.”  
“He had a gun.”  
 _“Especially_ if he had had a gun.”  
“Then they robbed only you” Izumo suggested, but, after a while, Kotetsu replied with an unsure hum. Izumo sat next to him, rubbing a hand on his back. “How about this…?” Kotetsu turned to look at him, attentive. “We were robbed, and they held me at gunpoint. That’s why we didn’t fight back. And that’s what made you mouthy and angry, and that’s why they beat you up.”  
“…that’s scarier than the truth, Zumi.”  
“…an accident on the bike?” Izumo got a gentle hug of his arm to stop Kotetsu from keep rubbing the bandage with his good hand. “Drunk driver didn’t respect the bicycle lane.”  
“…I guess that works…”

Izumo hummed quietly in agreement, squeezing Kotetsu’s arm a little bit, trying to encourage him. Kotetsu’s mom’s hearing that her son had been run over by a car while on the bike wasn’t, of course, comforting…but at least it was less bad than near murder at cold blood, and out of being beaten. Being hit by a car was, at least, more common, so even though it was still scary, it was normalized enough to somehow be mentally prepared to some degree. After a moment sharing the blue mood together, Kotetsu sighed again and turned to give him a sad look with eyes full of regret.  
“I don’t like lying to my mom…”

Izumo stared at him quietly for a bit. Kotetsu’s murmur had been fragile and broken. Izumo, still hugged to his arm, looked for his hand and entwined their fingers.   
“Some lies are necessary, sometimes” Izumo whispered back. Then, he gave slightly wide eyes to Kotetsu and clarified, “Some.”  
“Yes. I know” Kotetsu murmured and looked away, containing a sigh. They stayed quiet together for a bit. Izumo rested his head on Kotetsu’s shoulder, while he did but keep staring at their reflection. “Thanks for helping me keep this from my mom. You’re too comprehensive, Zumi. You shouldn’t be.”  
“These things happen, Ko” Izumo shrugged. “It’s not excusable but it’s not like you were looking for this outcome. Let’s consider this…your last stupidity from youth. Which means you did wrong, but learned. Yes?”

Kotetsu sighed shortly and gave him a smile.  
“I did” he nodded. “I learned you’re the voice of reason, always.”  
“I mean, not always” Izumo shrugged and smiled back. “But when I insist on a matter…I’m pretty sure I’m right.”  
“You always are” Kotetsu replied, bringing the lock of their hands up to give a soft kiss to Izumo’s hand. They smiled at each other, and after a moment, Izumo reached close and pressed a tender kiss to Kotetsu’s cheek, below the bandage. When he got away, Kotetsu gave him a sad smile, which Izumo replied to with one of pity. He wasn’t enjoying watching Kotetsu like this, so down in the dumps. A week had gone by, they had spoken, apologized, confessed, but Kotetsu still had all this…guilt and regret and they were mining him. There wasn’t much that could be done, Izumo guessed, but try to talk more with him, support him, and cheer him up if possible. 

For a second, Izumo wished very badly to give him a kiss, on the lips, but Kotetsu had asked him not to until he had healed, at least until they took the cast off him.   
“I want you to kiss a mature, worthy me” Kotetsu had said. “Not this beaten up _moron_ , it’ll ruin the memory. In the future, when I think back in our first- our first official- our first…officially romantic kiss, I don’t want to remember it happened while I healed from my biggest fucking stupidity that you had to rescue me from and that had us both crying and covered in my blood, god damn it, no. I’m sorry, Zum, but you’ll have to wait for this demigod’s beautiful, meaty, moist mouth.”

Izumo had chuckled and agreed, wishing out loud that time could go faster so Kotetsu healed already, and pushed him away for that description of his own mouth. He also found it cute how he got mixed up with wording ‘our first officially romantic kiss’; if anyone was wondering, seven year old Kotetsu had kissed kid Izumo (without even asking, mind you) because ‘mom told me that’s what you do to the person you want to spend your life with’, and twelve year old Kotetsu had asked Izumo to kiss him so they could figure out what a serious kiss was like and to ‘practice’ for whenever they would have a first girlfriend; fifteen to nineteen years old Izumo and Kotetsu would often be dared at school parties to kiss each other, because people apparently thought they made a ‘cute couple’, and they would comply because they were best friends, ‘a kiss means nothing, what are we, twelve year olds? Grow up, people’. 

So Izumo couldn’t do more than smile at him, gently caress his cheek with a thumb, hug his arm again, and lie his head on his shoulder. He heard Kotetsu sigh again and knew that he turned back to the mirror, but he couldn’t do much about that, other than hold his arm so that he could, on a side, stop touching the damn bandage, and on the other side, feel some support. He really needed it. And the sensation was comforting to Izumo, too. He still sometimes dreamt of the fight night. It wasn’t very graphic or terrifying, but he always woke up feeling antsy, and it reminded him how close he had been to losing Kotetsu. It wasn’t a nice sensation. After that night, all the fights they had had felt stupid, senseless even. Izumo had left them all behind that same night, but he had to admit he was grateful that they still talked it through.

After spending all morning asleep with Kotetsu, that one morning that Ko woke up to confess to him, they woke up to Iruka having cleaned the apartment and brought food. After a bit of a weird, chaotic first day that was mostly helping Kotetsu around and giving him his medicine to keep the pain bearable and recovering, both of them, Kotetsu insisted on the third day to talk things, saying he felt good enough for that, and that it would give him more peace at night. Kotetsu spent an awful half an hour apologizing for taking up on street fighting, for keeping it hidden, lying about it, insisting on it, going behind his back, and for not having dropped it as soon as Izumo asked him for it. He sometimes became a bit breathy, tired from speaking and achy from his ribs, but he insisted on going on until he spoke out his apology, cried a tear or two through his speech, and apologized more. 

Izumo had nodded through it, cleaned his tears, contained some himself as well, and nodding more. By the time Kotetsu was done, Izumo could only thank him for the big apology and the little ones it included.  
“I was very hurt from the idea of you hiding it from me, and lying about it, and I didn’t give myself time to digest it, so I threw it back at you in the form of anger” Izumo explained. “Started calling you names, yelled at you, instead of talking with you like the rational adult you are. So I too messed up there…I could’ve stopped to breathe, but I chose not to. I angered you and made it worse. I’m so sorry.”

Kotetsu had wanted to insist that he had no blame in this, but, the truth was, Izumo did react quite badly, and even though Kotetsu was aware that he had most of the blame himself, he still knew both were human; flawed, none a hundred percent wrong nor right, each with their mistakes. So he had nodded and thanked him for the apology.  
“I got mad at you when you got mad at me not because I thought I was right, but because I felt that you were rejecting and spitting on my effort” Kotetsu had said. “There was _nothing_ I wanted more than to make _you_ happy. Above everyone and everything I wanted to get with the money I was making, I wanted to give _you_ a million things. I wanted to make you happy, the happiest. So when you got angry, I didn’t snap back because I was angry, I snapped back because I was hurt, because I had been spending months working hard to get all those things to make you happy, and you rejected it and called me names and got angry. So I snapped back because I was hurt, but I thought I was angry.”

And so the two went on with the apologies, one by one, little as they could be, nodding and thanking each other after each of them.  
“You tried to reason with me, calmly, maturely, but I kept insulting you and reacting that way. I was still hurt from the lying and hiding, so I insisted on treating you like an idiot. I’m sorry.”  
“I kept trying to look for ways to avoid the responsibility that had to be mine of stopping this mess looking for ways to blame you. I thought you were just a stubborn, proud ass, and I didn’t want to apologize first. So I waited for you to do it, like some…immature little shit. I’m sorry, Zumi.”  
“When you called me a hypocrite, I was very, _very_ hurt” Izumo didn’t manage to finish that sentence without the voice and lip quivering, and a pair of tears forming in his eyes. _“Very_ …so I just…let it all come out in the form of anger. I wanted to hurt you like you hurt me with that, so I just…said things I didn’t mean. I’m so sorry.”  
“And I’m so sorry I called you that…among all things I did, that’s the second I regret most, only next to starting this mess. All your life you’ve given all of you to me and I dared call you that, what the fuck was wrong with me…?”

And more apologies. For making you feel like I didn’t care, for making you feel like I hated you, for not cooking for you that night, for not listening and being so fastidious, for stapling the papers in the middle of the page, for not doing your laundry.  
“I’m so sorry I dared you to the fight that once” Izumo had said with eyes honest but scared, like he still expected his mistake to be worthy of an angry reprimand. “Arguing, I understand, but I crossed the line _very_ bad with physical fighting. I initiated it. You said no many times. I threw the first hit. It was all me. All your injuries from that once and all of mine…it’s all on me. I’m very sorry, and I’m willing to make up for it somehow, some day…”  
“And I’m sorry I fought back. Thank you for acknowledging this, and I’m sorry I threw more fire into the fire, it just made things worse.”

They spoke and spoke until Kotetsu was a bit breathless, not stopping until both had given each other all and every apology they had, accepting the other’s, and forgiving each other. Hard as they wanted to hug, the most they could get in Kotetsu’s condition was that Izumo, standing in front of Kotetsu, who was sat, hugged his head gently to his chest, and Kotetsu got a weak hold of him with his only one good arm. 

And they recovered each other. Talking things through, crying a bit, apologizing and working it all out, they were back in each other’s lives, closer than ever before. And recovering each other sped up their personal recoveries, from the injuries of the heart. Like it had always been; healed and healing, together.  
“I have a question, if that’s okay” Kotetsu had said that same day of apologies after having rested for most the day. “The days I went missing…did you really…not care? You didn’t know where I was and…”  
“Oh…no, I knew where you were, so that’s why I didn’t call or worry” Izuom admitted, looking a bit embarrassed.   
“But how? I made sure to not tell our friends, and ask the people that knew not to tell you.”  
“Yeah, you made sure to tell our bosses and your mom to not tell me that you were going to be at your uncle’s…” Izumo looked away. “…but you forgot to tell your uncle.”

The silence that followed was nearly comical after a good ten awkward seconds in silence.   
“Izumo, I really am the dumbest person on this planet.”  
“Only in some things, my dear” Izumo replied among little laughs, reaching close, holding Kotetsu’s cheek in a hand and nuzzling at his jaw lovingly. “You’re smart and very talented in our job. Indeed, you’re more talented than me. You just…miss the little details.”

Kotetsu hummed in response and stayed quiet for a bit more. Later that night, after having dinner, Kotetsu threw another question that he had had in mind since the night of the fight.  
“Say, Zum…” the other had replied with a little hum while he took the dishes to the sink. Kotetsu took a while, hesitating and toying with his lower lip between his teeth before he dared throw the question. “How did…I mean…did you…sense something weird that night?” Izumo had turned and given him a look of curiosity. “I just…think a lot, what would’ve happened if you hadn’t…been there, that night” Kotetsu lowered the eyes. “I think of what if you’d let this one night of fighting go like the others, what would’ve happened…so, what pushed you that one specific night to follow me?”

Izumo didn’t reply at first. He stayed near the sink, watching Kotetsu with a curious and attentive eye. After a while in a sad silence, Izumo gave him an equally sad smile, contained a sigh, and went to sit next to him.   
“…the thing, Ko…” Izumo started, murmuring, voice gentle and a little sad. He reached to grab Kotetsu’s good hand, locking their fingers together. He still took a moment looking with sad eyes at their hands, before he looked back up at Kotetsu with the same blue smile than before. “Is that…after you told me about it…I followed you to every single fight.”

Kotetsu’s lips parted and he looked at Izumo with eyes gleaming of intense curiosity and surprise. Izumo gave him a minute to process the information, pressing his lips in a line, looking partly ashamed and partly apologizing.   
“I couldn’t…I couldn’t help myself” Izumo shrugged. “Every time you left, all I could think was, what if they hurt him, what if they try to do something bad to him, what if something happens to him…” Izumo sighed and shook the head. “So I followed you. Every night you went out, all of them. Even when I said I didn’t care, even when we stopped talking to each other, I always followed you there…” Izumo looked down in shame. “I’d leave the apartment after you did, and come back running to be here before you, and pretend to be asleep…” 

Izumo took a moment before looking at him again, still with that apologizing look.  
“That’s why I was there the night I dared you to fight, and why I was there this time, too…and why I had the eighty grand in my pocket. Every night, I’d go with all that money, in case it was necessary…hoping it would never be, but…” Izumo chuckled sadly to finish that sentence. He stayed quiet, eyes and head down, while his thumb anxiously caressed the back of Ko’s hand. “It wasn’t coincidence. I was always there…” and after a while in silence, he added, “I’m sorry.”  
“You’re sorry?” Kotetsu breathed out in disbelief after a moment in silence. Izumo gave him a fearful look. Kotetsu was staring at him with eyes that gleamed in a huge mix of emotions that could only be summarized in a touched, broken heart. Kotetsu held back a few tears, and he squeezed Izumo’s hand in his own. “Izumo…I had no idea…”

And before Izumo could expect it, Kotetsu reached close to bury his face into his shoulder, let go of his hand, and used his own to press Izumo’s head to himself.   
“Izumo, you never stopped caring…”   
At the whisper, tender, warm, still bittersweet and broken, Izumo felt his heart wrench.  
“I could never stop caring, Ko” Izumo whispered as he hugged him back as gently as he could, still fearful of hurting Ko’s poor state even more. “Even if I tried, I…can’t stop caring.”  
“All those nights, you took the effort and time to go there, just to make sure I was fine…” Kotetsu broke apart, eyes teary, and he couldn’t seem to be able to hold eye contact. “All those nights, you must have been so stressed and worried and I made you sacrifice sleep and safety and everything, just…just so you could look after me, and I…” he sighed. “God, and I dared believe you a bad friend and a bad person with no feelings, I dared…” and he went back into resting his face on Izumo’s shoulder. “Dear god, Zumi, I had no idea…I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry…” 

Not having expected that reaction, Izumo could only hug him back and tell him it was okay. Kotetsu seemed shaken, and it seemed to have only poked deeper into the guilt that was already eating him alive. Izumo had admitted that he thought Kotetsu would be upset, thinking it stalking, but all that Kotetsu saw was the stalking not of a psychopath or a creep, but that of a worried friend who had tried to convince him to leave this, and, when he wasn’t heard, was pushed to his last resource: if he couldn’t stop him from going, then start following him, to at least know he was safe.  
“I mean, it’s because I wanted to be sure” Izumo had shrugged while he tried to comfort Kotetsu that it was okay “Being mad at you doesn’t mean I stop caring. I was angry, yeah, but even furious at you, I would still follow you to the end of the world.”

So all those times that Kotetsu had thought to hallucinate Izumo in the crowd, it _had_ been Izumo. And that was why he was there that night…because he always had been. Like a guardian. Or an angel. Or a guardian angel. The wonderful, loving guardian angel made of purity that he had always been…

So now Kotetsu sat here on his bed, in their present a week later, made this disaster; worried for his mother’s reaction to seeing him hurt, feeling guilty for having to make up a lie for her, guilty for all the things he did and all the things he knew now, injured, relying on medicines so breathing wouldn’t hurt like a fucker, and touching that damn bandage all the time. The hits from the brass knuckle had been the worst; the broken bones ‘happened all the time’, according to doctors, but people were rarely ever repeatedly hit with the sharp end of a metal white weapon on the same spot. 

When Kotetsu tried to let go of his hand to touch the damn thing that crossed his face again, Izumo gripped his hand tighter, and reprimanded him with a glance. Kotetsu pouted, but Izumo just lifted his eyebrows at him until Kotetsu smiled but looked down. Telling him it was okay was not what he wanted nor needed to hear, so Izumo didn’t say that.  
Instead, he reached close, bringing Kotetsu’s head further down, and he kissed his forehead as tenderly and lovingly as he could. All forgiven, and hoping for a good healing of the body and the heart.

°˖✧°˖✧

Izumo had been peacefully folding the clothes from laundry in Kotetsu’s room when, from the other side of the hallway, he heard the most melodramatic whine that he had heard in his life. Not helping a smile, Izumo tried to ignore it, but the whine kept going like Kotetsu’s breath could go on for hours. Izumo stopped midway with the clothes until the whine faded, waited a bit more until he thought the pause was decent enough, and just as he started folding the clothes again, Kotetsu whined under his breath, low and in some sort of comedic tragedy. Izumo chuckled, shook the head, and left to his room, that had become Kotetsu’s “safe headquarters” (also known as the room they were sharing ever since that night because they had been physically unable to get away of each other). 

Izumo reached the doorway and stood there for a moment. Kotetsu, like was so often these days, was sat at the edge of Izumo’s bed, facing the mirror, and touching his damn nose with his good hand. Izumo sighed, smiling but eyebrows furrowing in worry, as he leaned against the doorframe. It had been a month since the accident. Kotetsu still had the arm in a cast and sling, but they had taken the square patch off his chin and the bandage off his face, replaced with only another square patch. They were back from the doctor for an update and Kotetsu wasn’t happy with it. And not that he wasn’t healing, his chest hurt significantly less and all and…well, he was healing. His bones, that is…  
“Permanent scar!” Kotetsu whined as he touched the square patch that covered the bridge of his nose and barely reached his cheekbones. “She said permanent scar, Izumooooooooooooo.”  
“Look, at least you kept your nose” Izumo replied, crossing the arms. “You didn’t see yourself, but I could see your _skull_ among the…flesh and blood” Izumo shook the head to get rid of the mental image. “A scar is literally the best outcome you could’ve asked for, be grateful.”  
“I’ll have a permanent scaaaaaaaaaaaaaar” Kotetsu pouted out loud like an overly melodramatic dog losing its toy, throwing the head back and whining the last word for as long as his breath allowed, turning into fake sobs. Among fake but sincerely sad hiccups, as if a tantrum it was, Kotetsu lowered his head and called for him. “I-zu-mo…”

Izumo gave him a crooked smile and hummed lowly, getting closer.  
“Now, there, there” Izumo played along. He got on his knees on the bed, behind Kotetsu, wrapped his arms around his neck, and rested his chin on the top of Kotetsu’s head. “It’s not so bad.”  
“It’s not so bad!” Kotetsu replied as he looked at the mirror again. “Izumo, I have a permanent scar…on my _face!”_  
“Come on, it’s not so bad!” Izumo tried to insist. “It’ll fade a little bit more, it reached here” he pointed at a spot on Kotetsu’s cheekbone. “And here” and did the same on the other one. “And now it only covers the bridge of your nose!”  
“Which is the literal center of my _face!”_ Kotetsu pouted again. “My beautiful, perfect face, Izumoooooo.”  
“I thought I was the narcissist here.”  
“Yeah, but you _are_ handsome and beautiful, everybody knows that, so you have all rights to be a narcissistic little shit” Kotetsu replied and Izumo couldn’t help a chuckle. “But I only had enough ego to make up for the lack of beauty and now I can’t fake anymore!”  
“Hey! I think you’re handsome! A lot of people think you’re handsome!”  
“But that was the me before my stupidity, now this is a new face!”   
“Which is still very handsome!”

Kotetsu whined still as dramatic as before, not any less honest about being upset about it. Izumo chuckled a little sadly and stayed hugged to him. They went back to being quiet, and stared at the mirror. Izumo looked down at Kotetsu in the reflection to see what he was doing; Kotetsu, too, was staring at himself. His eyes, expressive, had been an open book to Izumo since he could remember, each day only clearer. It didn’t take him long to see the problem in them. Smile gone, Izumo looked down at him.  
“It’s not the aesthetic what’s bothering you” he stated in a murmur. Kotetsu looked back at him for a while with the same sad eyes that he had been looking at the mirror with. Then, he sighed and looked back at the mirror.  
“How are we going to ever forget about this mess if I’ll always wear it on the face?” Kotetsu asked and his good hand went back to touch the patch. “Whenever we kiss, just whenever we look at each other, we’ll remember about the time I almost went and killed myself for a greedy stupidity…”

Izumo stared sadly at him for a while, not sure what to say.   
“Among all places I could get a permanent scar, it had to be the face” Kotetsu mumbled bitterly. Izumo stared calmly for a moment and contained a sigh.  
“It’s okay. We don’t need to forget” he said and offered a gentle smile. Kotetsu looked up so Izumo broke away only enough to stare back and smile at him. “I don’t think I’d forget even if you hadn’t gotten any scars. We just need to…get over this together. And the first step is forgiving yourself…” he reached close and kissed Kotetsu’s temple, closing the eyes and staying there for longer than a normal kiss, and broke apart gently. “Okay?”

Kotetsu said nothing at first. After a while, he looked at Izumo again after having looked away, smiled, and nodded, with eyes sad but confident. Izumo smiled back at him and kissed his head again in encouragement. The two remained quiet for a bit again, looking at Kotetsu in the reflection. Less sad but still upset, Kotetsu sighed as he stared at himself.  
“People are going to stare.”  
“Kotetsu, you’re literally the last person that cares about others staring” Izumo reminded him with a bit of a playful smile. “Indeed, you’re only one notch from being an exhibitionist, dear” Kotetsu couldn’t help but snort and laugh a bit. “Besides, you won’t outstand too much among our group. Iruka has a scar, too, longer than yours. And Raidou!”  
“I mean, yeah, but at least Iruka didn’t choose his fight, he was a kid, so it wasn’t his fault” Kotetsu sighed. “And Raidou’s was an accident. _My_ scar, though, it’s result of my own conscious, adult stupidity. It’s not cool like theirs.”  
“At least you’ll match.”  
“Not true…Iruka’s is one long, clean cut, and Raidou’s like a constellation, mine looks like frozen bird puke.”

Izumo hummed while thinking for a few seconds.  
“Okay, then, how about this?” Izumo offered. “When we go out with Genma and Raidou again, we’ll all match now! Symmetrically!” Izumo rested his chin on top of Kotetsu’s head again, smiling at their reflection. “The two brown haired guys with the bandanas, and the two tough looking guys with the face scars. Two tall, two little. Huh? How about that?”  
“Eh…” Kotetsu shrugged dismissively. “We wouldn’t match symmetrically.”  
“Yes, we would.”  
“No.”  
“Yes, we would!”  
“No, we wouldn’t!”  
“But why not!?”  
“Because they’re not boyfriends.”

Izumo flinched in his spot, heart skipping a beat, lips parting and face turning instantly red. He froze in his spot for a moment, while Kotetsu…oblivious and dense, seemed to have not noticed what he said as he kept giving himself that melodramatic look in the mirror.  
“Are they?” Kotetsu asked after a moment. Izumo, in his spot, blinked and stayed still. “If they’re not, they should, I hadn’t thought about it until now but they would look cute together, don’t you think?” Izumo broke apart from his hug, looking down at Kotetsu with wide eyes and the face red. “That’d be the third gay couple in our inner circle, have you noticed? Izumo, when was the last time we saw a straight person? Besides, Genma wears his bandana backwards, and your hair is a different brown from his” and he _finally_ turned to look at Izumo. He saw him giving him wide eyes, an open mouth, this overall look of mute, frozen surprise. “…what?” and it took him yet longer, to the point Izumo, burning redder in the face, smiled and put a hand to his mouth in embarrassment. Kotetsu still stared for a bit, and then, when it hit him, he took in a slow gasp and turned into panic. “I didn’t mean…! No, yes, I did mean- it’s not- what I meant with ‘boyfriends’-!”

They kept staring at each other in awkward silence for a whole tense five seconds, before Kotetsu burst into what Izumo later tagged as ‘gay panic’, while he could only laugh behind his hand.  
“I didn’t mean that I didn’t mean it, I meant that I didn’t- like, you’re not entitled to say yes, I wasn’t thinking what I said, I know we haven’t like, properly or officially asked each other to be boyfriends, we haven’t even really asked each other out, I just, you know, this past month in recovery, snuggling with you and sleeping in the same bed and being pampered and all these kisses and pet names and all, I just sort of assumed- not assumed like, took it for granted, rather, kind of, my mind was in that…frequency, you know, a-and, you don’t have to- like, if it’s too soon-”

Izumo continued laughing the more Kotetsu went on. When he decided he had let Kotetsu suffer enough in the panic, he let go of his face, laughed a little more freely, and reached close to hug him again. Kotetsu still had the broken arm in a cast, in a sling, and his ribs were still recovering, so even though he was way better and he swore the pain was barely an issue now, Izumo was still careful when he reached close and gently pressed Kotetsu’s head to his chest, and he rested a cheek on the top of Kotetsu’s head. Hugged and reassured, Kotetsu stopped talking and relaxed in the embrace.  
“I love it” Izumo murmured with a sweet smile. “Boyfriends.”

After a moment, Kotetsu relaxed even more and sighed.  
“I can’t wait until I heal so I can take you somewhere nice. Be a proper and worthy boyfriend” Kotetsu said sweetly. Izumo broke apart from the hug to look at him and give him a smile, caressing his hair. “When I heal, you’ll wish I hadn’t because you won’t be able to take me off you like a damn koala.”  
“It’s not like that’s any different to how you’ve been all our lives, anyway” Izumo said. Kotetsu complained but Izumo just chuckled. He contained a sigh and put a fingertip to Kotetsu’s lips. “I really won’t mind the clinging if that means I’ll get to kiss you, finally.”  
“Hm-hm” Kotetsu hummed the rejection as he smirked at his now boyfriend. “I know you’re impatient and _eager_ ” Izumo rolled his eyes. “But you’ll have to wait.”  
“What if I just steal it?” Izumo asked with a smart smile and a lifted eyebrow. Kotetsu chuckled and shook the head.   
“You wouldn’t do that.”  
“Says who?”

Kotetsu just chuckled again. Little by little, playfully and smiling smartly, Izumo started getting closer and closer. Kotetsu didn’t move. When Izumo was a breath away, he stopped, waited, and looked up to see if Kotetsu was really not going to move away. He cursed under his breath, much to Kotetsu’s amusement.  
“I hate that you know and trust me this much” Izumo complained. Close as he was, Kotetsu’s good hand appeared unexpectedly and took a gentle grip of his chin. Izumo couldn’t help a sudden blush. Kotetsu smiled smartly as he eyed his lips, and then got closer, and closer…but, instead of kissing him, he put his hand flat and full on Izumo’s face and pushed him slow but strongly. Izumo, startled, flailed around as Kotetsu pushed him until he was lying on the bed and finally let go of his face. Izumo gave him wide, falsely offended eyes. Kotetsu laughed and turned around, properly climbing onto the bed, and carefully lied down on his side next to Izumo, keeping his head up with his good hand and just staring at his boyfriend in silence.

Izumo, staying thrown on the bed, smiled up at him for a good while in a sweet atmosphere before speaking.  
“So you won’t let me kiss you, but you’re already pinning me to the bed.”  
“Wh-!”  
“What?”  
“N-! No! Izumo!”  
“What?” Izumo asked while laughing, at the time Kotetsu hid his face behind his good hand, got off him, and let himself drop (as slowly as he could) on the bed and curled up, whining out like Izumo had traumatized him for life. “What!?” Izumo insisted laughing more, reaching for Kotetsu who continued making some squeaky noise and tried to hide his face, so red, so intensely red Izumo got worried he was asphyxiating or something. “Ko, it was a joke!” 

But Kotetsu just continued hiding his blushing face and making noises of embarrassment and shyness. Izumo laughed all along, only slightly blushed as well from the embarrassment of the reply he got out of his joke, and mostly just finding Kotetsu’s reaction cute. While they laughed it out, Kotetsu finally let go of his face little by little and faced him again, starting to rant about how he shouldn’t make those jokes when Kotetsu’s guard is completely down and off. Izumo turned on his side and stood the weight of his head on a hand, this time Kotetsu staying down while talking. Izumo smiled and just…listened. Enjoyed of every little noise, from words to the chuckles to the little breaths in between. And watched. The way his mouth moved, every blink of his eyes, his beautiful skin, and his nose patch…all a different Kotetsu and all the same Kotetsu.  
Kotetsu.   
_His_ Kotetsu. 

While Kotetsu kept making squeaky noises and talked redundantly on pervert jokes, Izumo, not listening since a while ago, reached close, took him gently by the chin, and kissed his cheek softly. When he broke apart, he kept Kotetsu’s chin in his hand, cheeks gently squeezed in his fingers, and he stared at his boyfriend’s face, the eyes, the nose patch, the lips, and all the way back. After a moment in silence, Kotetsu’s face blushed a little, and he gave Izumo a dorky nervous little laugh. Izumo smiled and snorted quietly, amused at the reaction. 

He let go of Kotetsu’s face and contained a sigh, and then he just laid there, next to Kotetsu, head on a hand, and smiling while listening as Kotetsu started a new conversation; always curious, always on to something, always so cheerful and expressive and with something new to tell. As he went on, Izumo absentmindedly grabbed his good hand and toyed with it, partly to, like usual, not let Kotetsu keep touching the bandage patch on his nose, and partly to sometimes bring it up and distractedly give it a little kiss. Izumo was eager to kiss him, but he wanted to respect Kotetsu’s wish of waiting until he healed, so, for the time being, kissing his cheek and his hand would do. 

One day he would be able to kiss him. When Ko felt ready, and happy, and comfortable. He could wait. He was more than content enough with just getting to lie here, do nothing, ignore laundry, and listen to Kotetsu talk nonsense, the most delightful, richest nonsense of his life.


End file.
